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How does lightning occur?

types of lightning
Lightning is nothing more than an electrical discharge within the atmosphere. Lightning can strike within the same cloud (call intracloud lightning IC ), between two different clouds (cloud-to-cloud lightning CC ), between a cloud and the ground (cloud-to-ground lightning CG ), or between a cloud and the surrounding air (cloud-to-air lightning CA ). On average, only around 20% of lightning strikes are ground lightning. However, there are significant regional differences.

Cloud lightning on May 28, 2016 over Berikon.

Lightning can be positively or negatively charg

 

Most ground lightning has a negative charge. Positive ground lightning only accounts for about 10%. Positive lightning usually originates from the cirrus umbrella of a cumulonimbus (anvil) and travels a greater sri lanka phone number library distance. They are therefore significantly stronger than negative lightning and ensure a larger discharge. While negative lightning has an average current of 30,000 amps, positive lightning reaches currents of several hundr thousand amps.

lightning formation
Right from the start. The exact origin of lightning is still not fully understood and there are different theories. It is generally assum that the charge separation within a cloud

must be present. In order for graupel to form, convective clouds with sufficiently strong updrafts are ne to keep the graupel grains in the air. In addition, lighter ice crystals and supercool water droplets are ne to ensure charge separation within the cloud.

Thunderstorm approaching yesterday afternoon near Biel-Benken

Thunderstorm approaching yesterday afternoon near amazon marketing in japan Biel-Benken BL. (Meteo reports/app)
These conditions only exist in a thundercloud that has a large adb directory vertical extension and strong updrafts and downdrafts.

When the heavy graupel grains collide with the light ice crystals within these updrafts and downdrafts, the graupel grains acquire either a positive or negative charge and the ice crystals acquire an opposite polarity. Laboratory studies indicate that the graupel grains, and thus also the ice crystals, are not charg equally in every temperature range.

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