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A lightning strike or lightning bolt is a lightning event in which the electric discharge takes place between the atmosphere and the ground. Most originate in a cumulonimbus cloud and terminate on the ground, called cloud-to-ground (CG) lightning.
Positive lightning is less common than negative lightning and on average makes up less than 5% of all lightning strikes. [73] A bolt from the blue lightning strike which appears to initiate from the clear, but the turbulent sky above the anvil cloud and drive a bolt of plasma through the cloud directly to the ground. They are commonly referred ...
Smooth channel lightning is an informal term referring to a type of cloud-to-ground lightning strike that has no visible branching and appears like a line with smooth curves as opposed to the jagged appearance of most lightning channels. They are a form of positive lightning generally observed in or near the convective regions of severe ...
The presence of fulgurites in an area can be used to estimate the frequency of lightning over a period of time, which can help to understand past regional climates. Paleolightning is the study of various indicators of past lightning strikes, primarily in the form of fulgurites and lightning-induced remanent magnetization signatures. [1]
A ground current, the electricity that flows through the ground away from the point where lightning strikes, puts anyone nearby the strike at risk of shock. Ground currents affect a much larger ...
Ground current occurs when the lightning strikes nearby and travels to the person through the ground. [1] Side splash makes up about a third of cases and occurs when lightning strikes nearby and jumps through the air to the person. [1] Contact injury occurs when the person is touching the object that is hit. [1]
Cloud-to-ground lightning. Typically, lightning discharges 30,000 amperes, at up to 100 million volts, and emits light, radio waves, x-rays and even gamma rays. [1] Plasma temperatures in lightning can approach 28,000 kelvins. Atmospheric electricity describes the electrical charges in the Earth's atmosphere (or that of another planet).
The actual phenomenon that is sometimes called heat lightning is simply cloud-to-ground lightning that occurs very far away, with thunder that dissipates before it reaches the observer. [2] At night, it is possible to see the flashes of lightning from very far distances, up to 100 miles (160 km), but the sound does not carry that far. [3]