How does lightning form? Does it strike up or down? Over the decades Iβve seen lightning do some freaky stuff. In this visually stunning video weβre going to explore and explain the weird world of lightning.
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BIRTH OF LIGHTNING in THUNDERSTORMS
Thunderstorms have the ability to separate pools of positive and negative charges in and around them, thus creating powerful electric fields. Lightning is born between two oppositely charged regions as a network of electrically conductive channels called leaders materialize and begin to tunnel a path through the poor conductive air in between. Think of leaders as a sort of jumper cable. The leaders branch out in two directions, each with opposite polarities toward both regions in an attempt to neutralize the charge separation.
CLOUD FLASHES or INTRACLOUD LIGHTNING
Most lightning flashes occur within the storm and are called cloud flashes or intracloud lightning.
GROUND FLASH or Cloud-To-Ground Lightning
When one end of the bidirectional leader network connects to the ground or object on the ground we call it a ground flash, or cloud-to-ground lightning. CG for short.
WHEN STEP LEADERS & UPWARD LEADERS MEET
In the most common CGs, a negatively charged step leader approaches the ground. The electric field between the step leader and the ground strengthens to the point that an oppositely charged positive leader (aka upward streamer) begins reaching up bridging the gap between the two. More than one upward leader may initiate and attempt to connect with the downward leader, however, the first to reach a downward propagating step leader will suddenly complete a channel path through the resisting air for the flow of powerful electrical current between the Earth and cloud. Electrons then RAPIDLY accelerate down the channel causing extreme heating and the brightest flash of the event. This is the return stroke of negative CGs. In rare photographs, you can see failed upward connecting leaders that didnβt reach, the downward leader first, and thus terminating into the air.
WHAT CAUSES THUNDER?
the air around lightning becomes So hot that it explodes as a supersonic shock wave that transitions to an acoustic wave within a few meters. This rapid expansion of air molecules creates sound waves that radiate outward about 1 mile every 5 seconds. The sound we hear is thunder.
WHY DOES LIGHTNING FLICKER?
Often after a negative CG return stroke, multiple other return strokes follow causing the main channel to flicker. This is called a multistroke CG flash.This repetitive nature is caused by recoil leaders forming on the upper end of the lightning channel in the cloud which is positive polarity.
COMMON POSITIVE FLASHES
The return stroke of typical positive CGs rarely flicker. Many occur between a positive pool higher in the thunderstorm, and the ground. Because of the greater distance the leaders have to blaze through the resisting air, the return stoke of these positive CGs is often much hotter, brighter and longer in duration. The peak charge in Positive CGs can be 10 times more powerful than a typical negative CG and thus considerably more dangerous. These are generally the most powerful CGs, reaching temperatures up to 30,000 Celsius. Thatβs roughly 5 times hotter than the surface of our Sun. Positive CGs only account for about 5-10% of all ground flashes worldwide, But In tornado Alley, they are an atypically common sight. I tend to see them just downstream of strong storm updrafts.
BOLT FROM THE BLUE
Sometimes a bolt of lightning can leap miles away from a storm jolting earthlings with surprise.
We call this a Bolt from The Blue. Outdated paradigms suggested these clear air channels leaping out the back of storms were positive in polarity. But the latest research using lightning mapping and high speed cameras have shown most of these startling zaps are indeed negative.
If you capture a Bolt from the Blue and it has a lot of branching, chances are it was a negative CG instead of a positive.
WHAT IS UPWARD LIGHTNING?
Sometimes storms can grow upscale into massive complexes stretching across states. These systems can have horizontally layered charge regions that serve as the conduit for lightning to travel over a 100 kilometers. They transfer HUGE amounts of charge, and cause abrupt changes in the electric field, which can trigger another flash in a sort of domino effect. Upward lightning travels UP from tall objects on the ground into the storm.This is ALSO called Ground-to-cloud lightning. Almost all upward moving flashes are triggered by a nearby lightning flash, either when leader activity or a return stroke occurs close enough to the tall object causing an abrupt change in the electric field. .
This video was possible thanks to lightning scientist Tom Warnerβs research. For more in-depth information visit his website ZTresearch.com
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44 comments
Almost six decades on this planet, and nobody has ever explained the lightning phenomena as well as you just did.
SORRY MAN CANT PROVE SOMETHING I CANT SEE CAN I NOW
NOT YET AWAY BUT NEVER SAY IT NEVER
LIKE NEVER BELIEVE IN SOME FOOL THEORY OF EVOLUTION OF SLOWLY MOVING FORWARD CAUSE YOU MIGHT MEET A ROCK
EVEN WORST IT MIGHT JUST DROP RIGHT ON YOU
JUST BECAUSE YOU STUPIDLY REFUSE TO LOOK DONT MEAN IT'S NOT THERE FOOL
CAVEMAN NOT EVEN YET KNOW HOW TO WRITE THE ALPHABET AND ALREADY WROTE A SCIFI CREATION STORY ON CLAY WITH QUANTUM ENERGY AND NOT A MYTH
EVOL YOURSELF A BRAIN TO CONTEMPLATE THAT
I SURE CANT BELIEVE WHAT DOPE THEY SMOKING
WHAT EVER IT WAS MUST BE GOT IT DIRECT FROM GOD
ALL THE DOPE I SMOKE JUST WACK
SO NOW I WANT TO SCORE MI SOME HEAVEN DOPE
yo this video Rules im going to be dorky and ID lightning next time i see it in front of my fiance who will think it's adorable
*Trick Question*
WHYYY
I ACED IT AND I GOT AN INTRACLOUD WHYYYY
I DONT KNOW BUT IF THE SCIENTIST CLAIM THEY REALLY KNOW HOW IT WORK THEN SURELLY THEY CAN REPLICATE OR CREATE ONE RIGHT ?
AN ELECTRIC BALL LOOK ALIKE AINT LIGHTINING TO ME AND THE WAY IT TRIGGER EXPLAIN THAT
EXPLAIN WHERE THE MULTIPLE CHARGE CAME ABOUT FOR THE ATMOSPHERE IS PRETTY MUCH NO CHANGE IN THE MOMENT YET A HAIL OF POWER DOING WHAT EVER IT WANT OR LIKE WITH OUT ANY CONDITIONAL CHANGES THAT CAN EXPLAIN THE TRIPPLE 4X 5X 6X AMOUNT THEN 1X 2X AND 7X 8X 5X ..EXPLAIN THAT
IT LIKE THOR IS DOING SINLE THEN FULL AUTOMATIC SEMI AUTOMATIC THEN SINGLE SHOT AND GOING CRAZY WITH A FULL CARTTALIGES OF AMMUNITION
STUPID ME LISTEN TO HIM JUST AIM AT EM ASS YOU SEE AND GO ALL IN WHAM BAM THANNK YOU MAM
JUST SCRATCH IT SOONER OR LATER THEY GET ITCHY
Great explanations. I'm still curious about so-called heat lightning (is that just high altitude intracloud lighttning?), and ball lightning, if it is a real thing, and if so how it works.
What i think is interesting is how when people are struck by lightening it makes a pattern across their back mostly that looks jus like a lightening bolt then I think our circulatory system in our bodies are the same way starting with a truck and then branching off into our limbs just like a lightening strike looks! Also trees look the same with a trunk then limbs that branch off and even looking at the individual leaves they too branch off into smaller stems so it I is clear that all living creatures including us were made to adapt to this world as we too have electricity in our bodies as do all animals so it all all interconnected humans with the environment.
What i think is interesting is how when people are struck by lightening it makes a pattern across their back mostly that looks jus like a lightening bolt then I think our circulatory system in our bodies are the same way starting with a truck and then branching off into our limbs just like a lightening strike looks! Also trees look the same with a trunk then limbs that branch off and even looking at the individual leaves they too branch off into smaller stems so it I is clear that all living creatures including us were made to adapt to this world as we too have electricity in our bodies as do all animals so it all all interconnected humans with the environment.
Hank you must have some "Carl Sagan" in you to be able to bring science down to earth enough for the average person to begin to understand. My family and I love your mini documentaries and amazing footage. God Bless & be safe out there.
Only nerds watch this π€π€π€π€π€π€π€
Why did you record lighting with a tornado in it?
what causes the screening layers?
I love you channel man! Tornadoes coverage oh yeah. But this video, plus the other lightning videos….I'm amazed to the bone. Amazing coverage. And hey Hank, if you want, ask me about my theory about why lightning happens. I have it from a recorded physicist.. sorry for any miss sepllings.
OK, PH, but we are "seeing" only the eye's response to the electric fields being generated, or induced. There is still much that we do not see. Flashes are just a part of it, yeah?
Static
Fun fact: the longest lightning bolt was visible from as far as Mobile Alabama to Houston Texas
Fascinating. Thank you
What a dang tutorial!! If my useless knowledge added up to useful knowledge I would be some kind of genius. Till then Iβll keep learning how lightning works and green slime is made !
Iβm terrified by lightning so much.
Living in monsoon territory, I just learned something new.
jΓ‘ vou dizendo , o raio vem do domo elΓ©trico….aceite que dΓ³i menos….
Awesome information. Thanks.
Some forms of lightning didn't happen until after the industrial revolution, like a thunder snowstorm, but the intensity of a thunderstorm isn't just effected by weather, our government has invented a weather machine using technology from Nicola Tesla, it's called High frequency Active Research Program (H.A.A.R.P) there's a book written about it titled "Angels Don't Play this H.A.A.R.P"
why does heat lightning not make a sound? this video is great . thank you!
positive
im always on the look out for well explained lightning videos like this and they usually suck but this one was actually easy to understand
Science value less without Allah
Fascinating stuff. Great post. I love science.
wow, thank you for that awesome explanation
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