Electrical phenomena: what is lightning really?
Posted: Sat Dec 14, 2024 6:03 am
How are electrical phenomena formed?
Since time immemorial, the sky has attracted the attention of thousands of curious people who have observed throughout history the incredible majesty of everything that happens up there. But what are lightning bolts really?
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We advise you!
Today we know that, far from the heavenly fury, we are witnessing a spectacle of nature in which its energy and power are evident. And yet, there are meteorological phenomena that continue to leave us open-mouthed because knowing how they are formed does not make them any less amazing. Quite the opposite.
When we talk about thunderstorms, we are very likely to associate them with their most iconic element: lightning . This is a discharge of electricity that occurs when enough opposite electrical charges (positive and negative) accumulate in the clouds. Although the start of the electrical discharge itself is still subject to debate, it is thought that the ice that forms part of the graupel, which is the name given to the particles inside the clouds, creates polarities and produces a difference in the electrical potential that is what generates the electrical discharge .
This phenomenon can reach 10 billion kilowatts in just an instant , something truly incredible when compared to the combined electrical power of the seven nuclear power plants in Spain, which in 2022 reached 7,400 megawatts. As if this were not enough, lightning can also reach 30,000 degrees Celsius , a heat that is six times the temperature of the Sun's surface .
In fact, this sudden rise in temperature creates an explosion in the air that causes what we know as thunder , that characteristic sound that accompanies lightning, the luminous expression of lightning.
Why do rays have that shape?
When we think of lightning, what comes to mind is that branched , zigzag shape with a multitude of angles in different directions.
This is because, in the atmosphere, despite being invisible to the japanese phone number list human eye, there are areas with greater or lesser resistance , since it is not homogeneous. For this reason, when the electric discharge is generated and the lightning travels at about 440 kilometers per second, it does so looking for the path that offers less resistance , thus producing its typical morphology, in the form of branches instead of a straight line.
Types of electrical phenomena that exist
Now that we know how lightning originates and why it makes such a loud noise and has such a particular shape, it is time to learn about the different types that exist .The topic of electrical phenomena is very broad due to the changes that may occur in the wind, atmospheric pressure or humidity of the place where the storm is occurring. These are the most common lightning strikes:
Lightning from cloud to earth surface
This is the most common type of meteorological electrical phenomenon, with a discharge from top to bottom , reaching the ground. Therefore, it can be dangerous and have destructive consequences for humans and animals.
A variant of this is the pearl ray , when from the same ray others appear around it.
Cloud to cloud lightning
When two clouds that are not connected present a difference in electrical potential, this can give rise to a discharge that travels horizontally, rather than vertically. That is, the lightning originates in one cloud and reaches another nearby cloud .
They can also occur within the same cloud, in which case it would be intracloud .
And the rarest: the sprites
One of the most fascinating electrical phenomena that take place in the atmosphere is what is known as a sprite , a reddish spectrum with a ghostly appearance .
Technically, sprites are part of what is known as Transient Luminous Events and are natural phenomena that occur in the mesosphere, the coldest layer of the Earth's atmosphere that is about 50 kilometers above sea level.
These very special spectra originate thanks to a powerful electric field that occurs at the top of a thunderstorm , in which the cloud that has produced lightning towards the Earth's surface is seen with a deficit of electrons. This causes a voltage that accelerates the electrons, which collide with force against the air molecules, and forms this characteristic phenomenon.
The bad news is that their appearance and disappearance are so fleeting that they can only be recorded with special cameras . In addition to sprites , among the Transient Luminous Events there are also blue jets -similar, although bluish in color- or a kind of ellipse, which is called elves ( elves in English), a name that characterizes them since they seem like something magical, with a diameter of approximately 400 km and a duration that usually does not reach 0.001 s.
Since time immemorial, the sky has attracted the attention of thousands of curious people who have observed throughout history the incredible majesty of everything that happens up there. But what are lightning bolts really?
Link copied
We advise you!
Today we know that, far from the heavenly fury, we are witnessing a spectacle of nature in which its energy and power are evident. And yet, there are meteorological phenomena that continue to leave us open-mouthed because knowing how they are formed does not make them any less amazing. Quite the opposite.
When we talk about thunderstorms, we are very likely to associate them with their most iconic element: lightning . This is a discharge of electricity that occurs when enough opposite electrical charges (positive and negative) accumulate in the clouds. Although the start of the electrical discharge itself is still subject to debate, it is thought that the ice that forms part of the graupel, which is the name given to the particles inside the clouds, creates polarities and produces a difference in the electrical potential that is what generates the electrical discharge .
This phenomenon can reach 10 billion kilowatts in just an instant , something truly incredible when compared to the combined electrical power of the seven nuclear power plants in Spain, which in 2022 reached 7,400 megawatts. As if this were not enough, lightning can also reach 30,000 degrees Celsius , a heat that is six times the temperature of the Sun's surface .
In fact, this sudden rise in temperature creates an explosion in the air that causes what we know as thunder , that characteristic sound that accompanies lightning, the luminous expression of lightning.
Why do rays have that shape?
When we think of lightning, what comes to mind is that branched , zigzag shape with a multitude of angles in different directions.
This is because, in the atmosphere, despite being invisible to the japanese phone number list human eye, there are areas with greater or lesser resistance , since it is not homogeneous. For this reason, when the electric discharge is generated and the lightning travels at about 440 kilometers per second, it does so looking for the path that offers less resistance , thus producing its typical morphology, in the form of branches instead of a straight line.
Types of electrical phenomena that exist
Now that we know how lightning originates and why it makes such a loud noise and has such a particular shape, it is time to learn about the different types that exist .The topic of electrical phenomena is very broad due to the changes that may occur in the wind, atmospheric pressure or humidity of the place where the storm is occurring. These are the most common lightning strikes:
Lightning from cloud to earth surface
This is the most common type of meteorological electrical phenomenon, with a discharge from top to bottom , reaching the ground. Therefore, it can be dangerous and have destructive consequences for humans and animals.
A variant of this is the pearl ray , when from the same ray others appear around it.
Cloud to cloud lightning
When two clouds that are not connected present a difference in electrical potential, this can give rise to a discharge that travels horizontally, rather than vertically. That is, the lightning originates in one cloud and reaches another nearby cloud .
They can also occur within the same cloud, in which case it would be intracloud .
And the rarest: the sprites
One of the most fascinating electrical phenomena that take place in the atmosphere is what is known as a sprite , a reddish spectrum with a ghostly appearance .
Technically, sprites are part of what is known as Transient Luminous Events and are natural phenomena that occur in the mesosphere, the coldest layer of the Earth's atmosphere that is about 50 kilometers above sea level.
These very special spectra originate thanks to a powerful electric field that occurs at the top of a thunderstorm , in which the cloud that has produced lightning towards the Earth's surface is seen with a deficit of electrons. This causes a voltage that accelerates the electrons, which collide with force against the air molecules, and forms this characteristic phenomenon.
The bad news is that their appearance and disappearance are so fleeting that they can only be recorded with special cameras . In addition to sprites , among the Transient Luminous Events there are also blue jets -similar, although bluish in color- or a kind of ellipse, which is called elves ( elves in English), a name that characterizes them since they seem like something magical, with a diameter of approximately 400 km and a duration that usually does not reach 0.001 s.