![]() ![]() In the case of IC or CC lightning, this channel is then drawn to other pockets of positive charges regions. When a breakdown at the bottom of the cloud creates a pocket of positive charge, an electrostatic discharge channel forms and begins traveling downwards in steps tens of meters in length. As the charge at the bottom of the cloud keeps growing, the potential difference between cloud and ground, which is positively charged, grows as well. Lighting originates when wind updrafts and downdrafts take place in the atmosphere, creating a charging mechanism that separates electric charges in clouds – leaving negative charges at the bottom and positive charges at the top. In addition, it poses the greatest threat to life and property, so understanding its behavior is seen as a necessity. In this case, the lightning takes the form of a discharge between a thundercloud and the ground, and is usually negative in polarity and initiated by a stepped branch moving down from the cloud.ĬG lightning is the best known because, unlike other forms of lightning, it terminates on a physical object (most often the Earth), and therefore lends itself to being measured by instruments. In the case of cloud-to-cloud lightning, the charge typically originates from beneath or within the anvil and scrambles through the upper cloud layers of a thunderstorm, normally generating a lightning bolt with multiple branches.Ĭloud-to-ground (CG) is the best known type of lightning, though it is the third-most common – accounting for approximately 25% cases worldwide. The term "heat-lightning" is often applied here, due to the association between locally experienced warmth and the distant lightning flashes. In such instances, the observer may see only a flash of light without hearing any thunder. Intra-cloud lightning most commonly occurs between the upper (or "anvil") portion and lower reaches of a given thunderstorm. For example, there is intra-cloud lighting (IC), which takes place between electrically charged regions of a cloud cloud-to-cloud (CC) lighting, where it occurs between one functional thundercloud and another and cloud-to-ground (CG) lightning, which primarily originates in the thundercloud and terminates on an Earth surface (but may also occur in the reverse direction). Lightning can take one of three forms, which are defined by what is at the "end" of the branch channel (i.e. Although lightning is always accompanied by the sound of thunder, distant lightning may be seen but be too far away for the thunder to be heard. This discharge allows charged regions in the atmosphere to temporarily equalize themselves, when they strike an object on the ground. Experiments have been conducted since the time of Benjamin Franklin however, we are still heavily reliant on theories as to how lighting behaves.īy definition, lightning is a sudden electrostatic discharge during an electrical storm. But despite all that human beings have learned over the centuries, a degree of mystery remains when it comes to lightning. ![]()
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