Corona discharge with a discharge current of a few hundred microamperes can blow out a small candle flame within about 1 cm of a discharge point. A pinwheel, with radial metal spokes and pointed tips bent to point along the circumference of a circle, can be made to rotate if energized by a corona discharge; the rotation is due to differential electric attraction between the metal spokes and the space charge shield region that surrounds the tips. Corona discharge A corona discharge is an electrical discharge brought on by the ionization of a fluid such as air surrounding a conductor that is
Vallis (planetary geology) Vallis (planetary geology) Vallis (plural "valles") is the Latin word for "valley". It is used in planetary geology to name landform features on other planets. Scientists used "'vallis" for old river valleys they discovered when they sent the first probes to Mars. The Viking Orbiters caused a revolution in our ideas about water on Mars; finding huge river valleys in many areas. Space craft cameras showed that floods of water broke through dams, carved deep valleys, eroded grooves into bedrock, and traveled thousands of kilometers. Some valles on Mars (Mangala Vallis, Athabasca Vallis, Granicus Vallis, and Tinjar Valles) clearly begin