Ionized air glow
Ionized-air glow is the fluorescent emission of characteristic blue–purple–violet light, of color called electric blue, by air subjected to an energy flux.
When energy is deposited to air, the air molecules become excited. As air is composed primarily of nitrogen and oxygen, excited N2 and O2 molecules are produced. These can react with other molecules, forming mainly ozone and nitrogen(II) oxide. Water vapor, when present, may also play a role; its presence is characterized by the hydrogen emission lines. The reactive species present in the plasma can readily react with other chemicals present in the air or on nearby surfaces.
The excited nitrogen deexcites primarily by emission of a photon, with emission lines in ultraviolet, visible, and infrared band:
The blue light observed is produced primarily by this process. The spectrum is dominated by lines of single-ionized nitrogen, with presence of neutral nitrogen lines.
The excited state of oxygen is somewhat more stable than nitrogen. While deexcitation can occur by emission of photons, more probable mechanism at atmospheric pressure is a chemical reaction with other oxygen molecules, forming ozone:
This reaction is responsible for the production of ozone in the vicinity of strongly radioactive materials and electrical discharges.
Excitation energy can be deposited in air by a number of different mechanisms:
In dry air, the color of produced light (e.g. by lightning) is dominated by the emission lines of nitrogen, yielding the spectrum with primarily blue emission lines. The lines of neutral nitrogen (NI), neutral oxygen (OI), singly ionized nitrogen (NII) and singly ionized oxygen (OII) are the most prominent features of a lightning emission spectrum.
Neutral nitrogen radiates primarily at one line in red part of the spectrum. Ionized nitrogen radiates primarily as a set of lines in blue part of the spectrum. The strongest signals are the 443.3, 444.7, and 463.0 nm lines of singly ionized nitrogen.
Violet hue can occur when the spectrum contains emission lines of atomic hydrogen. This may happen when the air contains high amount of water, e.g. with lightnings in low altitudes passing through rain thunderstorms. Water vapor and small water droplets ionize and dissociate easier than large droplets, therefore have higher impact on color.
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