^^RIBBOiY LIGHTNlNGr 587 



"RIBBOK LIGHTNING." 



Ky orangk cook. 



IN the summer of 1898, W. H. Osborne, of Chardon, Ohio, an 

 amateur photographer of some experience, secured the accom- 

 panying photograph of a lightning flash which seemed to us to show 

 certain peculiarities that entitle it to a public notice and a perma- 

 nent record. The picture shows three flashes, of which the distant 

 and faint one at the right and the bright one at the left were 

 simultaneous, while the center one occurred a few seconds earlier. 

 Nothing about the thunder that followed the last and bright flash 

 suggested that it was specially near, but an examination of the 

 picture when developed and a comparison with the features of the 

 landscape showed that it .had come to earth about fifteen rods from 

 the place where Mr. Osborne stood with his camera. Mr. Osborne 



and myself carefully searched the locality indicated, but failed to 

 find even the slightest mark caused by the discharge upon any 

 object or in the .earth. 



^ileasurements at this place give the width of the ribbon of 

 light, if it stood at right angles with the line of sight, about eight 

 feet. This ribbon of light is seen to consist of six lines, approxi- 

 mately parallel, of unequal brightness, a pair being at each edge 

 and a pair near the center. The space between these pairs is 

 crossed by many nearly horizontal lines and a few oblique ones, 

 while that between the right-hand pair is crossed by oblique 

 lines only. The horizontal lines at the right of the center become 

 curved downward, which, with th§ increased brightness of the whole 

 toward that side, suggests to us that the ribbon of light did not 



