Onset of striations in barium clouds

A numerical technique is used to solve equations which describe growth of a barium cloud in the ionosphere, including arbitrary end-shorting ratio λ. For λ corresponding to actual releases, one finds growth of a limited range of wavelengths k grouped around a maximum growing k. The growth rate and k range are sensitive functions of electric field E and λ. Stability occurs below a critical E and for strong shorting. The growing modes are localized on the rear of the cloud. All modes are unstable for no shorting.