Lightning in atmospheric science refers to the strong discharge phenomenon in the atmosphere. Lightning is more common in thunderstorm weather in summer. Its occurrence is related to the movement intensity of airflow in the cloud. According to some data, lightning may also occur when it snows in winter, that is, it thunders and snows, but the probability of occurrence is quite small. If a serious volcanic eruption occurs, or an atomic bomb explodes to produce mushroom clouds, lightning may occur in the air due to short circuit.
Lightning discharge usually produces lightning. The cause of lightning is generally thought to be that various particles in the cloud accumulate charges due to collision and friction. When the amount of charge reaches a certain level, which is equivalent to the voltage between clouds or between clouds and ground reaching or exceeding a certain value, the local electric field strength will reach or exceed the electrical breakdown strength of air at that time, thus causing discharge. Electricity in the air causes the air to heat and expand rapidly through discharge, and is compressed into plasma due to the expansion, thus generating lightning, a special component. At present, the specific process of discharge is not fully understood, and it is generally considered to be similar to the long gap breakdown phenomenon.
Extended data:
Lightning generated by thunderstorm clouds is very similar to arc discharge, except that lightning is fleeting, but sparks between electrodes can exist for a long time. Because the high voltage between the two electrodes can be artificially maintained for a long time, it is difficult to replenish the charge in the thunderstorm cloud immediately after discharge.
When the accumulated charge reaches a certain amount, a strong electric field is formed between different parts of the cloud or between the cloud and the ground. The average electric field intensity can reach several thousand volts/cm, and it can be as high as 10000 volts/cm in some areas. Such a strong electric field is enough to break through the atmosphere inside and outside the cloud, so dazzling flashes are excited between the cloud and the ground or between different parts of the cloud and between different clouds. This is what people often say about lightning.
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