How does lightning form? The principle of how lightning is generated

In the hot afternoons and evenings of summer, the hot air from the ground carries a large amount of water vapor into the sky, forming large chunks of cumulonimbus clouds. Positive and negative charges are concentrated in different parts of the cumulonimbus cloud, and the ground is induced by the charge in the near-surface rain cloud, which also carries a different charge than the cloud base.

We know that different charges are attracted to each other. But air is non-conductive, and it blocks the convergence of both positive and negative charges. When the charges in the clouds accumulate more and more and reach a certain intensity, they break through the layer of air that blocks their rendezvous, opening a narrow channel and forcibly rendezvous.

Because the current in the clouds is strong, the air on the channel will be burned hot, and the temperature will be several times higher than the surface of the sun, so it will emit a dazzling white light, which is lightning. Thunder is a loud sound that occurs when the air and cloud droplets on the passage suddenly expand when they are heated.

Lightning and thunder are emitted at the same time, but because lightning is light, electricity, and the only electricity we can usually see (static electricity and electricity with electricity are invisible), its speed is 300,000 kilometers per second, which is much faster than the speed of thunder (sound) (340 meters per second), so we usually always see lightning first, and then hear thunder.

If two clouds close to each other carry a dissimilar charge, then when they are close to a certain level, a strong discharge will occur, and lightning will be formed.

Thunder and lightning are generally produced in cumulonimbus clouds where convection is vigorous. Cumulonimbus clouds are generally higher at the top, and the upper part of the cloud often has ice crystals. Processes such as the attachment of ice crystals, the breakage of water droplets, and air convection cause electrical charges to be generated in the clouds.

The distribution of charges in the cloud is more complex, but in general, the upper part of the cloud is dominated by positive charges and the lower part is dominated by negative charges. As a result, a potential difference is formed between the upper and lower parts of the cloud. When the potential difference reaches a certain level, an electric discharge will be generated, which is lightning.

And when lightning occurs, it will burst out a large amount of heat, causing the surrounding air to expand dramatically, emitting a loud roar, which is called thunder.

Classification of lightning strikes:

Thunder and lightning is a majestic and somewhat intimidating electrical discharge phenomenon accompanied by lightning and thunder. The condition for the generation of thunder and lightning is that there is accumulation in the thunderstorm cloud and polarity is formed. According to different topographic and meteorological conditions, lightning can generally be divided into three categories: hot lightning, frontal lightning (hot front lightning and cold front lightning), and terrain lightning.

Thunder and lightning simply means that a certain cloud in the sky and another cloud or the earth are discharged violently in an instantaneous manner due to the opposite nature of the electric charge. When a charged thundercloud comes close to a protrusion on the ground, a violent discharge occurs between them. At the site of the lightning discharge, there will be a strong flash of light and a roar.

This is the lightning and thunder that people see and hear.

There are four types of lightning: direct lightning, electromagnetic pulse, spherical lightning, and cloud flash. Among them, direct lightning and spherical lightning will cause harm to people and buildings, while electromagnetic pulse mainly affects electronic equipment, mainly caused by induction; Cloud flashes are the least harmful to humans because they occur between two clouds or on both sides of a cloud.

Direct lightning is to gather a lot of electric charges on the cloud, and a large number of electric charges have to find a channel to vent, sometimes it is a building, sometimes it is an iron tower, sometimes it is a person in an open place, so these people or objects become a channel for the discharge of electric charges, and the person or building is injured. Direct lightning is the most powerful lightning, while spherical lightning is less powerful than direct lightning.

The principle of lightning generation is caused by electrical discharges in the atmosphere, which is described in detail as follows:

1. The principle of lightning generation:

1. Thunder and lightning is a kind of atmospheric discharge phenomenon, which occurs in cumulonimbus clouds, and in the process of formation of cumulonimbus clouds, some clouds have a positive charge, and some clouds cover old clouds with a negative charge. When the charge accumulates to a certain extent, the electric field strength between the clouds of different charges, or between the cloud and the earth, can penetrate the air and begin to discharge freely, which is called pilot discharge.

2. The pilot discharge of the cloud to the ground is the gradual development of the cloud to the ground, when it reaches the ground, the buildings on the ground, overhead transmission lines, etc., will produce the reverse conduction main discharge from the ground to the cloud, in the main discharge stage, due to the violent neutralization of the opposite charge, there will be a large lightning current, and then a strong lightning and loud noise will be generated, which will form thunder.

2. Classification of lightning and lightning:

1. Direct lightning: It is formed by lightning and the ground, trees, towers or other buildings. The energy of this lightning strike is very large, and after the lightning strike, it will generally leave traces such as burning, potholes, and protrusions being cut off.

2. Ball mine: It is a kind of purple or gray-purple rolling mine, which can roll along the ground or float in the air, and can enter the room from the doors and windows, chimneys and other holes, and is easy to occur when encountering human bodies or objects.

3. Induction lightning: refers to induction overvoltage. When lightning strikes near electrical wires or electrical equipment, an overvoltage will form on the wires or electrical equipment due to static electricity and electromagnetic induction. Just because you don't hear thunder doesn't mean you don't have it.

4. Lightning intrusion wave: When lightning occurs, the lightning current generates an impulse voltage through the metal body such as overhead wires or aerial metal pipes, and the impulse voltage spreads rapidly with the direction of the metal body, resulting in harm.