Laboratory tank-
A device for physical simulation of the atmosphere, using water or other liquids as the working fluid.
Landsat -
A series of U.S. satellites designed for remote sensing and mapping of land areas. These satellites are launched into sun-synchronous orbits that return to image the same swath, two degrees wide, every 16 days. The primary imaging instrument on the first generation of Landsat satellites was a multispectral scanner,
a four-channel radiometer with a ground resolution of 80 meters.
Langmuir probe-
A probe used to measure the electron temperature of ionized plasmas; langmuir probes mounted on spacecraft are often used
to measure the electron temperature of the earth's ionosphere.
Laser-
(Acronym for light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation) A device that produces a narrow beam of electromagnetic energy by recirculating an internal beam many times through an amplifying medium, each time adding
a small amount of energy to the recirculating beam in a phase-coherent manner.
Laser radar -
A device that operates on radar principles but that uses a laser as its source of transmitted light-frequency
(ultraviolet, visible, or infrared) energy, instead of radio-frequency sources.
LIDAR-
(Coined word for light detection and ranging.) An instrument combining a pulsed laser transmitter and optical receiver (usually a telescope) with an electronic signal-processing unit used for the detection and ranging of various distant
targets in the atmosphere, analogous to the principles of operation of microwave radar.
Lightning arrester-
Any device designed to carry to the ground (to ground) the short-duration surge currents that appear on power lines and telephone lines during severe thunderstorms.
Lightning counter-
A device for measuring the number of lightning events within a specified time interval.
Lightning detection network-
An integrated array of lightning direction finders that provide information for trigonometric location
of cloud-to-ground lightning discharges.
Lightning direction finder -
(Also called sferics receiver.) An instrument that measures, electronically, the direction of arrival, intensity, and rate of occurrence of atmospherics; a type of radio direction finder, it is most commonly
used to detect and locate cloud-to-ground lightning discharges from distant thunderstorms.
Lightning imaging sensor -
An instrument designed to detect lightning from space as part of the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite.
Lightning mapping system-
A network of lightning detection equipment for locating the electromagnetic sources of a lightning flash.
Lightning recorder-
(Also called sferics receiever or lightning direction finder.) An instrument that measures, electronically, the direction of arrival, intensity, and rate of occurrence of atmospherics; a type of radio direction finder, it is most
commonly used to detect and locate cloud-to-ground lightning discharges from distant thunderstorms.
Lightning rod -
A grounded metallic conductor with its upper extremity extending above the
structure that is to be protected from damage due to lightning.
Liquid thermometer -
A liquid-in-glass thermometer or liquid-in-metal thermometer.
Local lightning flash counter-
An instrument for counting nearby lightning flashes.
Lyman-alpha hygrometer-
A hygrometer based on the absorption of radiation by water vapor at the Lyman-alpha line, which is an
emission line of atomic hydrogen at 121.567 nm.
