冬季雷活動時に観測される放射線量率の変動; 雷からの放射線発生と逃走絶縁破壊

Fluctuation of radiation dose-rate during winter thunderstorm

鳥居 建男  ; 奥山 慎一 ; 野崎 達夫 ; 大久保 浩一; 杉田 武志*; 村木 綏*

Torii, Tatsuo; Okuyama, Shinichi; Nozaki, Tatsuo; Okubo, Koichi; Sugita, Takeshi*; Muraki, Yasushi*

冬の日本海沿岸で発生する冬季雷の活動時に環境放射線レベルが上昇する事象が観測されることがある。これまでの測定の結果、数10秒程度の緩やかな低エネルギーの放射線レベルの上昇と、その直後に発生する高エネルギー放射線による急峻な上昇という異なる2種類の放射線が観測された。本稿では、冬季雷活動時の放射線変動の観測結果を中心に、放射線が引き金となって発生すると考えられる雷放電の逃走絶縁破壊について概説する。

The dose rate of the -rays increases in association with the activities of the thunderstorm. They were observed on the ground in the winter season of Japan. In addition to the measurement by the environmental radiation monitors set up around the fast breeder reactor, Monju, the radiation detectors were prepared which consist of the long proportional counters. The results were compared with the results measured at the same time by the environmental radiation monitors. The following two types of the radiation enhancements have been found during the winter thunderstorm activities; the gradual variation of photon intensity with energy up to a few MeV, and the burst type of the radiation that is attributed to the injection of high energy photons with the energy over 10 MeV. In this paper, we present the observed results during winter thunderstorms, and mention the runaway breakdown produced by the incidence of energetic radiation into thunderclouds.