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A global phenomenon?
Approaches
A persistant riddle
When looking for possible theories explaining the Hessdalen Phenomenon, discussion quickly comes to the special geological properties of the mountain region. The soil is extremely rich of minerals and the recovery of copper and other metals has a long tradition in the region. Otherwise the region is teconically very stable, so that there seems to be no connection to phenomena like earth lights, which have been described during earthquakes.
Light phenomena similar to the Hessdalen Lights have also been reported from other regions of earth. Among them is the Yakama-
Piezoelectric effects
Amongst other hypothesis, the Italian researcher Massimo Teodorani has proposed piezoelectric effects to explain the Hessdalen Phenomenon. If quartz is exposed to tectonic stress, electricity is generated, which could be amplified by the presence of iron and copper. However the energy produced during this process appears to be too weak to explain the brightness of the lights.
Radon decay
Radon is a radioactive element, which is often found in scandinavian granite. If it is exposed to the dusty atmosphere, the decay products might ionize the air and produce macroscopic Coulomb crystalls. The theory has been proposed by Pavia and Taft. However it stays unclear how the Hessdalen-
Scandium and air
The spectral analysis of the Hessdalen Phenomenon revealed that Scandium might be involved. Scandium can react heavily with acid and air. According to that the Hessdalen Phenomenon could be caused by dust clouds, raised by the wind from the ground and igniting a chemical reaction. However also in this case it stays questionable,
Natural battery
In 2013 Jader Monari et al. published an article proposing to explain Hessdalen as a gigantic natural battery. The theory has been featured in the New Scientist magazine print edition (10 May 2014. p.40-
The Hessdalen research appears to be far from developing a theory, providing a satisfactory explanation of all properties of the phenomenon. Currently, we just see hypothetical approaches, describing certain aspects of the phenomenon. All models fail to explain important key questions:
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Especially the fact that the Hessdalen Phenomenon does apparently not show any correlation to geographical factors (temperature, air pressure, wind intensity, season, solar activity), makes it difficult to develop appropriate hypotheses. Normally, we should expect that an atmospheric phenomenon is correlated to meteorological data. Many sightings are reported when the humidity of the air is high. However, this correlation can be explained by the fact that it is easier to oberve the lights at night. And during the night the air is usually more humid than in daytime.