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Water is the Major Hot House Gas
Lightning is an atmospheric discharge of electricity, which typically occurs during thunderstorms, and
sometimes during volcanic eruptions or dust storms. In the atmospheric electrical discharge, a leader of
a bolt of lightning can travel at speeds of 60,000 m/s, and can reach temperatures approaching 30,000
°C (54,000 °F), hot enough to fuse soil or sand into glass channels.[2][3] There are over 16 million
lightning storms every year.[1]
Lightning can also occur within the ash clouds from volcanic eruptions, or can be caused by violent
forest fires which generate sufficient dust to create a static charge.[1][4]
How lightning initially forms is still a matter of debate:[5] Scientists have studied root causes ranging
from atmospheric perturbations (wind, humidity, and atmospheric pressure) to the impact of solar wind
and accumulation of charged solar particles.[6] Ice inside a cloud is thought to be a key element in
lightning development, and may cause a forcible separation of positive and negative charges within the
cloud, thus assisting in the formation of lightning.[6]
Polarization mechanism hypothesis
The mechanism by which charge separation happens is still the subject of research, but one hypothesis
is the polarization mechanism, which has two components:[18]
Falling droplets of ice and rain become electrically polarized as they fall through the atmosphere's
natural electric field;
Colliding ice particles become charged by electrostatic induction.
Ice and supercooled water are the keys to the process. Violent winds buffet tiny hailstones as they form,
causing them to collide. When the hailstones hit ice crystals, some negative ions transfer from one
particle to another. The smaller particles lose negative ions and become positive and the larger more
massive particles gain negative ions and become negative
Contents [hide]
1 Historical scientific research
2 Properties of lightning
3 Formation
3.1 Charge separation
3.1.1 Polarization mechanism hypothesis
3.1.2 Electrostatic induction hypothesis
3.2 Leader formation
3.3 Discharge
3.3.1 Gurevich's runaway breakdown theory
3.3.2 Gamma rays and the runaway breakdown theory
3.4 Re-strike
4 Types of lightning
4.1 Positive lightning
4.1.1 Anvil-to-ground
4.2 Cloud-to-cloud
4.3 Dry lightning
4.4 Rocket lightning
4.5 Cloud-to-ground
4.5.1 Bead lightning
4.5.2 Ribbon lightning
4.5.3 Staccato lightning
4.6 Ground-to-cloud lightning
4.7 Ball lightning
4.8 Upper-atmospheric
4.8.1 Sprites
4.8.2 Blue jets
4.8.3 Elves
5 Triggered lightning
5.1 Rocket-triggered
5.2 Volcanically-triggered
5.3 Laser-triggered
6 Extraterrestrial lightning
7 Trees and lightning
8 Lightning-induced magnetism
9 Records and locations
10 Lightning detection
11 Most spectacular lightning strike incidences
12 In culture
12.1 As expressions and symbols
13 See also
14 References
15 Sources
16 External links
16.1 Jets, sprites & elves
Volcanoes generate electricity: see voltage and current measurements at Mt. Erebus site.
Next
Lightning is an atmospheric discharge of electricity, which typically occurs during thunderstorms, and
sometimes during volcanic eruptions or dust storms. In the atmospheric electrical discharge, a leader of
a bolt of lightning can travel at speeds of 60,000 m/s, and can reach temperatures approaching 30,000
°C (54,000 °F), hot enough to fuse soil or sand into glass channels.[2][3] There are over 16 million
lightning storms every year.[1]
Lightning can also occur within the ash clouds from volcanic eruptions, or can be caused by violent
forest fires which generate sufficient dust to create a static charge.[1][4]
How lightning initially forms is still a matter of debate:[5] Scientists have studied root causes ranging
from atmospheric perturbations (wind, humidity, and atmospheric pressure) to the impact of solar wind
and accumulation of charged solar particles.[6] Ice inside a cloud is thought to be a key element in
lightning development, and may cause a forcible separation of positive and negative charges within the
cloud, thus assisting in the formation of lightning.[6]
Polarization mechanism hypothesis
The mechanism by which charge separation happens is still the subject of research, but one hypothesis
is the polarization mechanism, which has two components:[18]
Falling droplets of ice and rain become electrically polarized as they fall through the atmosphere's
natural electric field;
Colliding ice particles become charged by electrostatic induction.
Ice and supercooled water are the keys to the process. Violent winds buffet tiny hailstones as they form,
causing them to collide. When the hailstones hit ice crystals, some negative ions transfer from one
particle to another. The smaller particles lose negative ions and become positive and the larger more
massive particles gain negative ions and become negative
Contents [hide]
1 Historical scientific research
2 Properties of lightning
3 Formation
3.1 Charge separation
3.1.1 Polarization mechanism hypothesis
3.1.2 Electrostatic induction hypothesis
3.2 Leader formation
3.3 Discharge
3.3.1 Gurevich's runaway breakdown theory
3.3.2 Gamma rays and the runaway breakdown theory
3.4 Re-strike
4 Types of lightning
4.1 Positive lightning
4.1.1 Anvil-to-ground
4.2 Cloud-to-cloud
4.3 Dry lightning
4.4 Rocket lightning
4.5 Cloud-to-ground
4.5.1 Bead lightning
4.5.2 Ribbon lightning
4.5.3 Staccato lightning
4.6 Ground-to-cloud lightning
4.7 Ball lightning
4.8 Upper-atmospheric
4.8.1 Sprites
4.8.2 Blue jets
4.8.3 Elves
5 Triggered lightning
5.1 Rocket-triggered
5.2 Volcanically-triggered
5.3 Laser-triggered
6 Extraterrestrial lightning
7 Trees and lightning
8 Lightning-induced magnetism
9 Records and locations
10 Lightning detection
11 Most spectacular lightning strike incidences
12 In culture
12.1 As expressions and symbols
13 See also
14 References
15 Sources
16 External links
16.1 Jets, sprites & elves
Volcanoes generate electricity: see voltage and current measurements at Mt. Erebus site.
Next
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