Super Cool Creations Lightning Bolt Mirrors - 35cm x 25cm

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Füllekrug, Martin; Mareev, Eugene A.; Rycroft, Michael J. (May 1, 2006). Sprites, Elves and Intense Lightning Discharges. Springer Science & Business Media. Bibcode: 2006seil.book.....F. ISBN 9781402046285. Archived from the original on November 4, 2017. Ball lightning may be an atmospheric electrical phenomenon, the physical nature of which is still controversial. The term refers to reports of luminous, usually spherical objects which vary from pea-sized to several metres in diameter. [84] It is sometimes associated with thunderstorms, but unlike lightning flashes, which last only a fraction of a second, ball lightning reportedly lasts many seconds. Ball lightning has been described by eyewitnesses but rarely recorded by meteorologists. [85] [86] Scientific data on natural ball lightning is scarce owing to its infrequency and unpredictability. The presumption of its existence is based on reported public sightings, and has therefore produced somewhat inconsistent findings. Brett Porter, [87] a wildlife ranger, reported taking a photo in Queensland, Australia in 1987. Volcanic activity produces lightning-friendly conditions in multiple ways. The enormous quantity of pulverized material and gases explosively ejected into the atmosphere creates a dense plume of particles. The ash density and constant motion within the volcanic plume produces charge by frictional interactions (triboelectrification), resulting in very powerful and very frequent flashes as the cloud attempts to neutralize itself. Due to the extensive solid material (ash) content, unlike the water rich charge generating zones of a normal thundercloud, it is often called a dirty thunderstorm. Positive lightning has also been shown to trigger the occurrence of upward lightning flashes from the tops of tall structures and is largely responsible for the initiation of sprites several tens of km above ground level. Positive lightning tends to occur more frequently in winter storms, as with thundersnow, during intense tornadoes [81] and in the dissipation stage of a thunderstorm. [82] Huge quantities of extremely low frequency (ELF) and very low frequency (VLF) radio waves are also generated. [83] Cloud to cloud (CC) and intra-cloud (IC) Mazur, Vladislav (November 1982). "Associated lightning discharges". Geophysical Research Letters. 9 (11): 1227–1230. Bibcode: 1982GeoRL...9.1227M. doi: 10.1029/GL009i011p01227.

Deamer, Kacey (August 30, 2016) More Than 300 Reindeer Killed By Lightning: Here's Why. Live Science Superbolts are rather loosely defined as strikes with a source energy of more than 100 gigajoule [100 GJ] (most lightning strikes come in at around 1 gigajoule [1 GJ]). Events of this magnitude occur about as frequently as one in 240 strikes. They are not categorically distinct from ordinary lightning strikes, and simply represent the uppermost edge of a continuum. Contrary to popular misconception, superbolts can be either positively or negatively charged, and the charge ratio is comparable to that of "ordinary" lightning. [99] [100] [101] About 90% of ionic channel lengths between "pools" are approximately 45m (148ft) in length. [50] The establishment of the ionic channel takes a comparatively long amount of time (hundreds of milliseconds) in comparison to the resulting discharge, which occurs within a few dozen microseconds. The electric current needed to establish the channel, measured in the tens or hundreds of amperes, is dwarfed by subsequent currents during the actual discharge.

Thousands of lightning bolts seen crackling over Europe in stunning new satellite image

a b c d Larson, Nina (February 1, 2022). "770-km US megaflash sets new lightning record". Phys.org. Archived from the original on February 1, 2022. When Lightning Strikes Out of a Blue Sky". DNews. Archived from the original on November 1, 2015 . Retrieved October 15, 2015.

Kasemir, H. W. (1950) "Qualitative Übersicht über Potential-, Feld- und Ladungsverhaltnisse Bei einer Blitzentladung in der Gewitterwolke" (Qualitative survey of the potential, field and charge conditions during a lightning discharge in the thunderstorm cloud) in Das Gewitter (The Thunderstorm), H. Israel, ed., Leipzig, Germany: Akademische Verlagsgesellschaft. As a result of their greater power, positive lightning strikes are considerably more dangerous than negative strikes. Positive lightning produces both higher peak currents and longer continuing currents, making them capable of heating surfaces to much higher levels which increases the likelihood of a fire being ignited. The long distances positive lightning can propagate through clear air explains why they are known as "bolts from the blue", giving no warning to observers. a b Krehbiel, Paul R; Riousset, Jeremy A; Pasko, Victor P; Thomas, Ronald J; Rison, William; Stanley, Mark A; Edens, Harald E (2008). "Upward electrical discharges fromthunderstorms". Nature Geoscience. 1 (4): 233. Bibcode: 2008NatGe...1..233K. doi: 10.1038/ngeo162. S2CID 8753629.Cloud-to-ground (CG) lightning primarily originates in the thundercloud and terminates on an Earth surface, but may also occur in the reverse direction, that is ground to cloud. Yair, Yoav; Aviv, Reuven; Ravid, Gilad; Yaniv, Roy; Ziv, Baruch; Price, Colin (2006). "Evidence for synchronicity of lightning activity in networks of spatially remote thunderstorms". Journal of Atmospheric and Solar-Terrestrial Physics. 68 (12): 1401–1415. Bibcode: 2006JASTP..68.1401Y. doi: 10.1016/j.jastp.2006.05.012. Some high energy cosmic rays produced by supernovas as well as solar particles from the solar wind, enter the atmosphere and electrify the air, which may create pathways for lightning bolts. [170] Lightning and climate change Airplane contrails have also been observed to influence lightning to a small degree. The water vapor-dense contrails of airplanes may provide a lower resistance pathway through the atmosphere having some influence upon the establishment of an ionic pathway for a lightning flash to follow. [131]

Vonnegut, B.; Vaughan, O. H., Jr.; Brook, M.; Krehbiel, P. (1984) "Mesoscale observations of lightning from Space Shuttle" NASA Technical Memorandum 86451. From p. 1: "Here is another description by Astronaut Gibson of lightning over the Andes, " … A few things which impressed me here: One is the fact that they [i.e., lightning strikes] could go off simultaneously or near simultaneously over a large distance — sympathetic lightning bolts, if you will, analogous to sympathetic flares on the sun. … " NASA OTD Images". NASA. 2007. Archived from the original on October 12, 2007 . Retrieved September 11, 2007. Kákona, Jakub (2023). "In situ ground-based mobile measurement of lightning events above central Europe". Atmospheric Measurement Techniques. 16 (2): 547–561. Bibcode: 2023AMT....16..547K. doi: 10.5194/amt-16-547-2023. S2CID 253187897. Koopman, David W. & Wilkerson, T. D. (1971). "Channeling of an Ionizing Electrical Streamer by a Laser Beam". Journal of Applied Physics. 42 (5): 1883–1886. Bibcode: 1971JAP....42.1883K. doi: 10.1063/1.1660462.Robinson, Dan. "Weather Library: Lightning Types & Classifications". Archived from the original on February 15, 2013 . Retrieved March 17, 2013. Thunder is heard as a rolling, gradually dissipating rumble because the sound from different portions of a long stroke arrives at slightly different times. [133]

Small, short duration sparks, recently documented near newly extruded magma, attest to the material being highly charged prior to even entering the atmosphere. [124]The upward motions within the storm and winds at higher levels in the atmosphere tend to cause the small ice crystals (and positive charge) in the upper part of the thunderstorm cloud to spread out horizontally some distance from the thunderstorm cloud base. This part of the thunderstorm cloud is called the anvil. While this is the main charging process for the thunderstorm cloud, some of these charges can be redistributed by air movements within the storm (updrafts and downdrafts). In addition, there is a small but important positive charge buildup near the bottom of the thunderstorm cloud due to the precipitation and warmer temperatures. [15] Staying Safe in Lightning Alley". NASA. January 3, 2007. Archived from the original on July 13, 2007 . Retrieved September 24, 2007.