March 10, 2021
609431 Days of Thunder
Singapore has a thunder day almost every other day. Lightning energy is free, renewable, and occurs a lot in Singapore... wouldn't it be great if we could capture it?
This was recorded with our 3Dio FreeSpace Pro II Binaural Microphone by our Sound Devices MixPre 6ii. Listen using headphones for the best immersive effect!
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Transcript
Humanity has managed to harness several types of natural renewable energy. The most commercially developed is hydro power, with solar and wind becoming more common. One source of natural energy that hasn't been tamed, is lightning energy.
Singapore has a lot of thunderstorm days; almost every other day. That’s a lot of lightning activity. The lightning energy in an air-to-ground bolt carries around 5 gigajoules of energy, the same energy as 143 liters of petrol. Roughly what you get if you fill up 2 german sports cars.
Capturing this much energy, which is transmitted in microseconds, is enormously challenging, and it’s not helped by the unpredictability of knowing where and when a storm will occur. Right now, no-one has figured out a way to do it.
Until that day, we can enjoy this sound as a perfect backdrop for an afternoon nap.
You’ve been hearing a tropical thunderstorm. Here is the car park of the Jurong Town Hall building postcode 609431. Check out this episode's show notes for more information, or visit our website, hearhere.show
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