Lightning
hideLightning is an atmospheric discharge of electricity accompanied by thunder, 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 (130,000 mph), and can reach temperatures approaching 30,000 °C (54,000 °F), hot enough to fuse silica sand into glass channels known as fulgurites which are normally hollow and can extend some distance into the ground. There are some 16 million lightning storms in the world every year.
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.
How lightning initially forms is still a matter of debate: Scientists have studied root causes ranging from atmospheric perturbations (wind, humidity, friction, and atmospheric pressure) to the impact of solar wind and accumulation of charged solar particles. 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.
For more information about Lightning, read the full article at
Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.
News tagged with lightning
Lightning-produced radiation a potential health concern for air travelers
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Dec 07, 2009 |
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New information about lightning-emitted X-rays, gamma rays and high-energy electrons during thunderstorms is prompting scientists to raise concerns about the potential for airline passengers and crews to be ...
Lightning’s Mirror Image, Only Much Bigger (w/ Video)
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Aug 23, 2009 |
4.5 / 5 (17) |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- With a very lucky shot, scientists have captured a one-second image and the electrical fingerprint of huge lightning that flowed 40 miles upward from the top of a storm.
Venezuela turns to cloud-seeding to battle drought
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Nov 29, 2009 |
not rated yet |
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(AP) -- Hugo Chavez says he is starting to "bombard" clouds now that Cuba has provided Venezuela with cloud-seeding help in an effort to produce rain and alleviate the effects of a severe drought.
A lightning strike in Africa helps take the pulse of the sun
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Nov 11, 2009 |
4.5 / 5 (11) |
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Sunspots, which rotate around the sun's surface, tell us a great deal about our own planet. Scientists rely on them, for instance, to measure the sun's rotation or to prepare long-range forecasts of the Earth's ...
Rotation is key to understanding volcanic plumes
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Mar 25, 2009 |
4.1 / 5 (7) |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- A 200-year-old report by a sea captain and a stunning photograph of the 2008 eruption of Mount Chaiten are helping scientists at the University of Illinois better understand strong volcanic ...
NASA Researchers Explore Lightning's NOx-ious Impact on Pollution, Climate
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Oct 23, 2009 |
4.9 / 5 (10) |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Every year, scientists learn something new about the inner workings of lightning. With satellites, they have discovered that more than 1.2 billion lightning flashes occur around the world ...
Longest lightning storm on Saturn breaks Solar System record
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Sep 15, 2009 |
3.7 / 5 (3) |
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A powerful lightning storm in Saturn’s atmosphere that began in mid-January 2009 has become the Solar System’s longest continuously observed thunderstorm. It broke the record duration of 7.5 months set by ...
Scientists Pierce Veil of Clouds to 'See' Lightning Inside a Volcanic Plume
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Apr 08, 2009 |
5 / 5 (3) |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers hit the jackpot in late March, when, for the first time, they began recording data on lightning in a volcanic eruption--right from the start of the eruption.
Lightning bolts a risk for modern jets
Jun 02, 2009 |
not rated yet |
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Passenger jets are hit by lightning every 1,000 hours -- on average twice a year -- and experts say the risk from the bolts of electricity is growing.
Scientists Use High-energy Particles from Space to Probe Thunderstorms
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Jun 01, 2009 |
4.4 / 5 (7) |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Florida Institute of Technology researchers are trying to solve one of the great mysteries in nature: how thunderstorms make lightning. Because, in principle, lightning is a big spark it should behave like ...
Opals set to shine with new grading technology
Aug 31, 2009 |
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CSIRO and a consortium of Australian Opal miners (Opal Producers Australia Limited) have unveiled the world's first automated device to grade opals using image analysis, at the 2009 National Council of Jewellery ...
The overall channels of the lightning discharges
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Nov 05, 2008 |
4.2 / 5 (14) |
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A new narrowband radio interferometer system has been developed for continuous observation of various processes of a lightning discharge at a time resolution of one microsecond. By using this system, a cloud-to-ground lightning ...
Astronauts board space shuttle for evening launch
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Jul 12, 2009 |
5 / 5 (1) |
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(AP) -- After enduring a month's delay, seven astronauts boarded space shuttle Endeavour on Sunday for an early evening flight to the international space station.
Lightning delays space shuttle Endeavour launch
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Jul 11, 2009 |
4.7 / 5 (3) |
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(AP) -- NASA scrubbed space shuttle Endeavour's Saturday evening launch after lightning struck at least 11 times near the seaside launch pad.
When Lightning Strikes, Spark Branches Reconnect
Sep 24, 2008 |
4.5 / 5 (10) |
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Bolts of lightning often resemble the forked, branches of trees. Similar to tree branches, lightning sparks typically spread apart. Recently, physicists at Centrum voor Wiskunde un Informatica and Eindhoven University of ...
