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Lightning is a natural phenomenon formed by electrostatic discharges through the atmosphere between two electrically charged regions, either both in the atmosphere or one in the atmosphere and one on the ground, temporarily neutralizing these in a near-instantaneous release of an average of between 200 megajoules and 7 gigajoules of energy, depending on the type.
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).
A return stroke, cloud-to-ground lightning strike during a thunderstorm. Cloud-to-ground lightning frequently occurs within the phenomena of thunderstorms and have numerous hazards towards landscapes and populations. One of the more significant hazards lightning can pose is the wildfires they are capable of igniting. [54]
As a result, the study estimates that somewhere between 2% and 16% of the oxidizing, or cleaning that happens naturally in the Earth's atmosphere, is done by lightning.
A new study suggests that cloud-to-ground lightning likely provided the necessary material for the first organisms on Earth to form. All Life on Earth Might Have Started From Lightning, Scientists Say
Halos, of Sun or Moon, including sun dogs; Haze; Heiligenschein or halo effect, partly caused by the opposition effect; Ice blink; Light pillar; Lightning; Mirages (including Fata Morgana) Monochrome Rainbow; Moon dog; Moonbow; Nacreous cloud/Polar stratospheric cloud; Rainbow; Sprite (lightning) Subsun; Sun dog; Tangent arc; Tyndall effect
Common optical phenomena are often due to the interaction of light from the Sun or Moon with the atmosphere, clouds, water, dust, and other particulates. One common example is the rainbow , when light from the Sun is reflected and refracted by water droplets.
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.