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1171
1172

How lightning really works (i.imgur.com)

submitted ago by KOWguy

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[–]i-hate-digg 592 points593 points ago*

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What you're seeing is called avalanche breakdown: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avalanche_breakdown

It's pretty simple. A large enough electric field between the clouds and the ground causes some electrons to get pulled away from their atoms (after first being separated from their atoms by natural cosmic-ray collisions that occur all the time). Those electrons then accelerate and and hit other atoms, freeing their electrons. Those new electrons then accelerate and the process repeats.

Every 'hit' causes a branch to form (where the original electron goes one way and the newly-liberated electron goes another), but the vast majority of branches merge together. It's only at critical points (where the local field is funky) where the branches actually separate into visible branches you see.

As each electron moves through the atmosphere, it leaves a wake of ionized (conductive) gas in it's wake. When one 'branch' reaches the ground, you have a conducting path between the air and the ground, and this allows all the current to get discharged through that path, causing the actual lightning bolt.

The initial bright flash is basically the same thing, except happening between clouds that are charged to different voltages. A great deal of lightning flashes actually occur between clouds, not clouds and ground.

EDIT: I should also add, counter to Anal_Bleeding's post, it does NOT find the path of least-resistance. Each electron simply moves according to the local electric field. The end spark may actually be quite suboptimal. Also, yes I know I'm a Melvin.

EDIT2: See 32koala's post.

EDIT3: See stirling_archer's post.

[–]Benlarge1 354 points355 points ago

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It's pretty simple.

[–]Karmmando 384 points385 points ago

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Just kill the Batman.

[–]Kertelen 19 points20 points ago

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If it's so simple why haven't you done it already?

[–]I_hate_bottles 15 points16 points ago

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If you're good at something, never do it for free.

[–]butchersblade 1 point2 points ago

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I wish I could charge people for something... :(

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    load more comments (8 replies)

      [–][deleted] 27 points28 points ago

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      Instant indicator that some complex shit you'll need to read four times to understand is coming up.

      [–]trollosophy 21 points22 points ago

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      I think we've been lowering the bar too much. It was highly simplified and easy to understand the first time. Also, just by looking at the graphic, his first edit (the counterpoint to Anal) should be obvious. The path of least resistance would have been a straight line.

      [–][deleted] ago

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      [deleted]

      load more comments (1 reply)

        [–]Benemortis 2 points3 points ago

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        Happy Derpday

        [–]Benlarge1 10 points11 points ago

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        Whoa, has it only been a year?

        Feels like I've been here forever

        [–]cerebrix 1 point2 points ago

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        you cant explain that

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          [–]Indoorsman 117 points118 points ago

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          I love that you wrote this well thought out informative post and then in the end you have to counter someone named Anal_Bleeding.

          [–]Sucka27 46 points47 points ago

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          I pictured a college professor looking at his notes uncomfortably and clearing his throat before saying, "erm, and as a counter to Anal Bleeding's point ..."

          [–]whence 1 point2 points ago

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          Somewhat relevant.

          [–]antipode 17 points18 points ago

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          You always have to counter anal bleeding in the end.

          [–]Anal_Bleeding 4 points5 points ago

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          You bet your ass

          [–]32koala 18 points19 points ago

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          Those electrons then accelerate and other atoms, freeing their electrons.

          Not clear on what that meant. Also, does that mean a plasma forms?

          [–]neutronicus 22 points23 points ago*

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          It should be

          Those electrons accelerate and collide with other atoms

          Basically, the electric field is large enough that, in between collisions, electrons are accelerated to energies greater than the energy required to liberate an outer-shell electron.

          And, yes, most plasma physicists would call lightning a plasma.

          [–]Lrs_ 8 points9 points ago

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          Also most lightning physicists would call plasma a lightning

          [–]neutronicus 18 points19 points ago

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          Yes. The Sun. Totally a lightning.

          [–]idiotthethird 18 points19 points ago

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          I've got $20 for anyone who can fly through the sun without being electrocuted.

          [–][deleted] 1 point2 points ago

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          I did it last week, now where's my 20$?!

          [–]hypnosquid 10 points11 points ago

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          Hey, I was there last week and all you did was drink my beer and bitch about how nobody at this party gets you.

          load more comments (1 reply)

            [–]stirling_archer 16 points17 points ago

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            A critical part of the process is the liberation of those first electrons, which as far as I understand can't simply be "pulled away" by the kinds of electric fields present. There isn't universal agreement on the process, but I'm inclined to believe Runaway breakdown, which suggests that a small number of high-energy electrons are liberated by cosmic ray impacts (e.g. relativistic muons) and begin the cascade. [Sources: An undergrad electromagnetism course and Wikipedia].

            [–]i-hate-digg 2 points3 points ago

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            You are correct. There's also thermal liberation of electrons, but it plays a much lesser role.

            [–]lackofoxygen 15 points16 points ago

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            Why does the flash of light go from the ground to the sky once the conductive path has been complete? as opposed to a flash that goes from the sky to the ground or the path lighting all at once

            [–]PabloEdvardo 12 points13 points ago

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            It's electron flow. The ground in any connection is actually the source of excess negative electrons. The positive is a lack of electrons, and therefore has a vacuum like effect once it reaches a connection to ground, causing the electrons to move up instead of down. Although when you get into semiconductor physics people will talk about the holes moving, and that's also typically how textbooks describe electric flow (known as conventional flow).

            [–]onezerozeroone 28 points29 points ago

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            My mom explained this to me years ago (no particle physicist she, rather a humble English major), and when I chimed in with said fact during 4th grade science class, I said something along the lines of "lightning actually goes from the ground to the sky"...

            My reward was the teacher mocking me, my classmates laughing at me....and one kid calling my mom an idiot and then beating me over the head with a marker while the teacher was out of the room.

            Good times.

            [–]GazUtd 23 points24 points ago

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            Ahh yes, school. That bastion of education. Where the smart people have the crap kicked out of them and the teachers don't know what day of the week it is.

            [–][deleted] 13 points14 points ago

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            Did the teacher send you mom something like this?

            [–]oxymetazolineHCIhead 4 points5 points ago

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            Reminds me of the time my family got a new computer that had 60 or 70 gasp gigs of hard drive and the computer teacher said that was impossible, that even the best computers had only like 10, and the whole class believed the teacher.

            And that reminds me of when I was in 5th grade and the teacher said we only use ~1% of our brains... I asked, "Are you sure it isn't closer to 10%?"

            [–]FredFnord 7 points8 points ago

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            But that last was funny because you were both wrong. Or, at least, 10% is only marginally closer to 100% than 1% is.

            [–]oxymetazolineHCIhead 2 points3 points ago*

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            The correct myth is 10%, not 1%. So even if we were both wrong, I was right about which one to be wrong about.

            And I might add that I thought the 10% thing was bullshit, so I was kinda peeved that she tried saying it was 1%. If I couldn't get them to think it was 10%, no way I could get them to think it was 100% (and I'm betting for her it wasn't)

            [–][deleted] 3 points4 points ago

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            I was that kid too. Always thinking for myself and questioning teachers. It also didn't help that my mother was on the school committee and occasionally made decisions that teachers were not fond of.

            [–]RaindropBebop 2 points3 points ago

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            Are you sure it isn't closer to 100%?

            FTFY.

            [–]tmtx 1 point2 points ago

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            Adam Hilliker sounds a lot like Adolf Hitler. just saying..

            [–]MindStalker 1 point2 points ago

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            You know, I do try to teach my kids not to argue about everything. Sometimes its best just to keep your mouth shut rather than correct every wrong thing you hear (especially as my kids are generally wrong in their corrections, but sometimes they are right). Generally, "think before you correct someone, is it absolutely necessary to correct them, and are you absolutely sure you are right." But in this case, as the parent I would have tried to get this teacher fired for being a moron.

            [–]RaindropBebop 3 points4 points ago

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            I'm glad when people correct me. I despise being ignorant about a subject, and if I make an unintended ignorant comment about something, I want someone to point it out. Being wrong about something is nothing to be ashamed of, not even wanting to know the truth is.

            [–]rcsheets 1 point2 points ago

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            "Conventional" being the one that assumes positive charge carriers?

            Sorry, just trying to remember. It's been a while.

            [–]PabloEdvardo 2 points3 points ago

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            I believe you are correct. In plasma (which is lightning), the ionized gas particles (electrons) act as the charge carriers.

            It's called conventional because when Benjamin Franklin first documented the different types of electric charges he had no way of actually looking at the 'polarity' of the atoms themselves, and called one 'positive' and one 'negative'. He had a 50/50 chance of getting it right, and unfortunately he got it wrong.

            Later in the 1900s when we were able to actually examine things at an atomic level, we realized that he was wrong and in fact the 'positive' side does not have an excess of electrons, but rather a lack of electrons. To keep with 'convention' we refer to the positive side as being the 'charge' and the source from which electricity flows (like the positive side on a battery). However, the actual electron flow is reversed.

            The quirkiest part about this is when you get into passive components that dictate the flow of electricity (diodes, zener diodes), and in conventional flow they point in the direction of current, when in reality current actually flows the opposite direction!

            load more comments (3 replies)

              [–]legendairy 1 point2 points ago

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              Just as I thought I somewhat understood lighting, I read your post and rewatched the gif, to be mindfucked yet again...

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                [–]asbvic 9 points10 points ago

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                How are we able to film that? How fast are these electrons moving exactly?

                [–]i-hate-digg 9 points10 points ago

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                Not very fast, actually.

                There is a wide spectrum of speeds, because the electrons start out slow (speed of sound), get accelerated, then lose momentum upon hitting other atoms.

                I don't remember the exact number but I'm pretty sure it's in the hundred kilometers per second range, which is fast for everyday things but not too fast for electrons (and easy to film, especially at a distance).

                [–]asbvic 7 points8 points ago

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                They start out at the speed of sound because the atoms they are attached to are moving at the speed of sound?

                [–]i-hate-digg 10 points11 points ago

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                Yes.

                [–]coder0xff 6 points7 points ago

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                I'm gonna write a screen saver that simulates this shit, because it's fucking awesome... I'm curious about the local field being 'funky'. I see some branches are actually moving away from the ground. The local fields can actually be so noisy that the gradient is up instead of down? What causes these local fields? Can you suggest a model that I might be able to use to achieve this? Also, why are the atoms moving at the speed of sound? Just because they're attracted to the ground, and they can't move any faster than that?

                [–]i-hate-digg 8 points9 points ago

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                That's a cool idea actually.

                Still air might seem pretty uniform, but once you get down to the level of atoms it's extremely haphazard and chaotic. This is part of the difficulty of accurately simulating fluids.

                About the electric fields, yes; those branches that you see curling up are actually trying to touch other clouds. As I said, there's a potential difference between different clouds and it causes that behavior.

                For a screensaver you don't need to worry about these things; just radial electric field, starting at a point in the cloud and radiating outwards (with maybe some randomness thrown in) should do just fine.

                load more comments (6 replies)

                  [–]mercnet 50 points51 points ago

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                  Science damn you! God makes lightning ಠ_ಠ

                  [–]GargamelCuntSnarf 25 points26 points ago

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                  We made lightning?

                  [–]taniaelil 22 points23 points ago

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                  ... your username...

                  [–]GargamelCuntSnarf 14 points15 points ago

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                  Hmm?

                  [–]taniaelil 25 points26 points ago

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                  I can think of nothing to say about it. I just felt it had to be mentioned.

                  [–]GargamelCuntSnarf 33 points34 points ago

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                  I think it's a perfectly cromulent name. Yours confuses my talker.

                  [–]tinkercreek 27 points28 points ago

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                  A noble username embiggens the smallest man

                  [–]Brando2600 1 point2 points ago

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                  I know what you two were doing last night...

                  [–]Brownsound 1 point2 points ago

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                  watching The Simpsons?

                  [–]dydxexisex 1 point2 points ago

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                  "Cromulent" is a cromulent word.

                  [–]Doshibu 6 points7 points ago

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                  Science damn you! God Thor makes lightning.

                  [–]dsymquen 6 points7 points ago

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                  Science damn you! God Thor Zeus makes lightning.

                  [–]jcos444 18 points19 points ago

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                  Zeus doesn't make the lightning. He just throws it. The Cyclopes made the lightning for Zeus. Sheesh.

                  [–]sarcasmsociety 6 points7 points ago

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                  Cyclopes has eye-beams, storm is the one with lightning

                  [–]jcos444 3 points4 points ago

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                  This answer is acceptable.

                  [–]dsymquen 4 points5 points ago

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                  I actually knew that ... upvotes for catching me

                  [–]jcos444 5 points6 points ago

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                  I almost said the hectachondrites?? (100 handers) made it, but then I was thinking, no....they aren't very smart.

                  Edit: Hecatoncheires* I was kind of close?

                  [–]Doshibu 3 points4 points ago

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                  Science damn you! God Thor Zeus Perkūnas makes lightning.

                  [–]fscker 5 points6 points ago

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                  Science damn you! God Thor Zeus Indra makes lightning.

                  [–]schkfrldn 1 point2 points ago

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                  Science damn you! G̶o̶d̶ ̶T̶h̶o̶r̶ ̶Z̶e̶u̶s̶ ̶P̶e̶r̶k̶ū̶n̶a̶s̶ 電母 (Dian Mu) makes lightning.

                  [–]plato1123 1 point2 points ago

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                  Hey, you know why you don't see lightning when there's not clouds? Because they need the clouds to hide the alien ship that is shooting bolts of electricity out of it's bottom at some poor dude that doesn't know he's part of a sick twisted game

                  [–]meditonsin 1 point2 points ago

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                  You mean Zeus?

                  [–][deleted] 6 points7 points ago

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                  Hey, you should add to that wikipedia article.

                  [–]i-hate-digg 5 points6 points ago

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                  This is actually a much better article; should have linked this instead: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electron_avalanche

                  [–]Badger68 2 points3 points ago

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                  Awesome, thanks! Is all lightning avalanche breakdown or are there different types of lightning?

                  [–][deleted] ago

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                  [deleted]

                  [–]nomdeanon 29 points30 points ago

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                  Yo, guy. Most of the time the source of excess negative charge is on the ground, so all those fuckers are just waiting to crack-ass up into the sky. However, they're all like "WTF?? I can't go up!" They keep pressing the up button, but nothing happens. Must be lag. Then, all of a sudden-like, there's this conductive pathway opening up in front of them... it's got a little "walk" symbol on it, so they know they're free to go. Then all them little fuckers just haul balls up that conductive pathway, creating lots o heat and light in the process. The rapidly heated air expands, like when you've been eating taco-bell and drinking mountain dew for weeks fart, creating thunder.

                  Every once in a while, the electrons, which are chillin up in the cloud, decide they need to get back down. They've been smokin bowls all week and really need a break from being up so high, so they're like "fuck this, I need some tacos". And so, the trees (actual trees) and other tall objects start sending out little leaders, basically looking for variances in the electric field that will create a conductive pathway to the cloud. Then, like an over-done enema, blam they sploosh back to the earth in what's called a "positive stroke", and that, my friend, is the best kind of strokin', if ya know what I mean, yo.

                  [–]rcsheets 2 points3 points ago

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                  They keep pressing the up button, but nothing happens. Must be lag.

                  LOL

                  [–]assholebiker 2 points3 points ago

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                  I'm a physicist and today I learned this.

                  [–]trm90 2 points3 points ago

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                  Sorry, I'm a bit lost in the numerous replies at the moment but I would like to clarify some of the things people have posted here, so this isn't in direct reply to your post (which was a great post by the way). This is from a more meteorological perspective.

                  First of all, lightning can either be cloud to ground or ground to cloud, and is entirely dependent on the arrangement of electrons and protons. Remember that lightning is a product of thunderstorm complexes, and that these complexes develop under numerous meteorological conditions that are somewhat complicated to explain here. Ultimately, it is the stability of the atmosphere and nature of the updrafts that encourage the convective processes making thunderclouds that will determine how charge is distributed and how likely it is that lightning will occur between the cloud base/ground and within/between other clouds.

                  [–]ubermonkeyprime 2 points3 points ago

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                  There's a new theory involving cosmic rays that accounts for the massive energy release that is greater than field between the ground and the clouds. It has quite a bit of experimental proof and worth looking into. Here's the gist: (quoted) http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/teachers/programs/3214_02_nsn.html This NOVA scienceNOW segment:

                  focuses on research efforts that attempt to explain how lightning propagates, a phenomenon researchers are still trying to understand.

shows different techniques used to study and measure lightning, such as releasing weather balloons and launching rockets to trigger lightning strikes.

describes a new theory in which electrons that move near the speed of light trigger lightning.

explains that the source of these high-speed electrons may be cosmic rays emanating from dying stars.

relates how X-rays and gamma rays are produced when cosmic rays collide with Earth's atmosphere—these high-energy rays generate high-speed electrons.

                  [–]Boonana 1 point2 points ago

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                  Nice comment, I read it all and learnt something new.

                  [–]Bring_dem 8 points9 points ago

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                  subscribe here: r/askscience

                  this will happen daily.

                  [–]scientologist2 1 point2 points ago

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                  Original video here

                  Made the rounds in various copies a couple of years ago, but still is good stuff

                  [–]radnog 1 point2 points ago

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                  So cool! Down here in South Florida I see lightning strike every day during the summer. Now I've got a whole new appreciation for it. Thx!

                  [–]rubmytummy 1 point2 points ago

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                  Uhh, no, no, no. This is all wrong. Lightning comes from all of the jelly fish and electric eels that produce electricity when they sting. The electricity evaporates from the oceans and collects in the clouds. When the clouds are full of water and electricity, it rains and lightning bolts fall from the sky. Obviously.

                  [–]zlukasze 1 point2 points ago

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                  That's neat. It's a natural photomultiplier tube.

                  [–]Codicosica 5 points6 points ago

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                  I dont need your sciency talk. I rather believe an angry sky god is bowling and having a lazar show

                  [–]zedoriah 15 points16 points ago

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                  I know you're joking but "lazar" makes my brain start to bleed.

                  [–]Codicosica 5 points6 points ago

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                  i apologize but i feel it just fit in with the vernacular i was trying to portray

                  [–]Johnno74 1 point2 points ago

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                  Let me guess, texas?

                  [–]Codicosica 1 point2 points ago

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                  ontario

                  [–]kleinbl00 4 points5 points ago

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                  And the structures created by avalanche breakdowns are called Lichtenberg Figures.

                  Apropos of nothing, Georg Christoph Lichtenberg was not only badass for fucking around with high voltage around the time of the Revolutionary War, but also for being the Jack Handey of the Renaissance:

                  Every man has his moral backside which he refrains from showing unless he has to and keeps covered as long as possible with the trousers of decorum.

                  He who is in love with himself has at least this advantage - he won't encounter many rivals.

                  Nowadays three witty turns of phrase and a lie make a writer.

                  load more comments (22 replies)

                    [–]laminak 44 points45 points ago*

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                    I believe this is filmed at 7200 frames per second. The branches heading downward at the beginning are called stepped leaders. They occur much too quickly for the naked eye to ever see them. These leaders travel down to the surface but the ultimate final connection that produces the lightning strike we see actually surges (called a streamer) from the ground up a few dozen feet to the sky to meet the stepped leader. The streamer is induced due to the presence of opposite charges now just above the ground.

                    When they meet a channel is open from the sky to the ground and a huge electric discharge occurs. The actual electric discharge travels at something like half the speed of light (much too fast for this film). The channel for electrons can remain "open" for a half second or so and causes the repeated rapid flashes or flickers we see sometimes.

                    The ground streamer is interesting because it will form as electrons travel up the tallest object reaching into the sky. This is why you don't want to be (or be around) the tallest object in a storm. The charge from the ground will travel from your feet up through the top of your head very easily...and then those final few feet in the air (which is comparatively more difficult to travel through) trying to make connection . Often many ground streamers fail to connect with the stepped leader, as they will be beat out by another ground streamer usually from a taller nearby object (because tall objects give that streamer a head start).

                    edit: Oops. The ground stroke is called a streamer, not a leader.

                    [–]Anal_Bleeding 361 points362 points ago

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                    It's a badass path-finding algorithm

                    [–]TheMu 329 points330 points ago

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                    Cloud-enabled, no less.

                    [–]MartialFur 8 points9 points ago

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                    Bravo!

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                      [–]slayemin 30 points31 points ago

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                      And it's in 3D space too. Quite mind blowing.

                      [–]whyitisfunny 68 points69 points ago

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                      Agreed. That was some dam fine recursion

                      [–]m0zzie 60 points61 points ago

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                      Agreed. That was some dam fine recursion

                      [–]daithiocoinnigh 57 points58 points ago

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                      [fatal error] 02645EA49C stack overflow

                      [–]GargamelCuntSnarf 22 points23 points ago

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                      Birthday... error.

                      [–]fashizzIe 18 points19 points ago

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                      cake overflow

                      [–]bug20k1 3 points4 points ago

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                      CONFETTI!

                      [–]StringFood 3 points4 points ago

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                      Last comment scraps still taste pretty good. Just not as moist.

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                        [–]borrofburi 19 points20 points ago

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                        It's a mediocre greedy algorithm.

                        [–]slvl 14 points15 points ago

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                        But it's lightning fast.

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                          [–]minustwomillionkarma 5 points6 points ago

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                          It seems pretty inefficient to me...

                          [–]phi_spirals 1 point2 points ago

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                          Badass was exactly the word I attached to this.

                          [–]dvdlesher 1 point2 points ago

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                          Now, to apply it to my life algorithm....

                          [–]Kerfuffly 1 point2 points ago

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                          By badass do you mean optimal/shortest/fastest/easiest/costiest or just badass coz it is lightning?

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                            [–]Pravusmentis 44 points45 points ago

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                            There are many types of lightning

                            [–]fouxdufafa 2 points3 points ago

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                            The video of the ball lightning was really interesting, I'd never heard of such a type.

                            [–]ducttape36 2 points3 points ago

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                            ball lighting will fuck your day up

                            [–]opnwyder 71 points72 points ago

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                            Wow, that's WAY slower than I thought.

                            [–]imightbearobot 50 points51 points ago

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                            He isn't the brightest atmospheric electrostatic discharge in the sky, but that is no reason to be rude.

                            [–]bast902 16 points17 points ago

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                            ಠ_ಠ

                            [–]PostagePaid 16 points17 points ago

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                            Reminds me of Missile Command for Atari

                            [–]avidday 10 points11 points ago

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                            Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2XwFF5idD_0

                            [–]speedpop 5 points6 points ago

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                            His "upward" lightning videos are also rather cool. Sample: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-bvmEYxEYiA

                            [–]MisterNetHead 2 points3 points ago

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                            Mother Nature: The Original Rave

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                              [–]kurin 3 points4 points ago

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                              Remember, that thing is blooming in three dimensions, like some hideous, deadly, electrical sky-fungus.

                              [–]omgwtfbbqpanda 4 points5 points ago

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                              Reminds me of neural pathways

                              [–]the_hamsterman 3 points4 points ago

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                              i literally watched that for 2 minutes.

                              [–]Deprogrammer9 2 points3 points ago

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                              The earth itself is one massive electric generator. http://youtu.be/annfqr8_73c?t=17s

                              "This planet, with all its appalling immensity, is to electric currents virtually no more than a small metal ball" - Nikola Tesla

                              [–]stumo 2 points3 points ago

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                              And they say lightning never strikes the same place twice. This one just keeps hitting the same spot over and over.

                              [–][deleted] 2 points3 points ago

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                              I asked my son if he wanted to see real lightening slowed down and showed him this. He asked "where's McQueen?". Sigh.

                              [–]vanillarain 26 points27 points ago

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                              A repost of a repost of a respost of a etc...

                              I usually don't mind reposts but this one has been done to death:

                              http://www.reddit.com/r/gifs/comments/ivtic/slow_motion_lightning/

                              http://www.reddit.com/r/gifs/comments/iiwa2/slow_motion_lightning/

                              http://www.reddit.com/r/reddit.com/comments/i9gpo/slow_motion_lightning/

                              http://www.reddit.com/r/woahdude/comments/ha20i/lightning_in_slow_motion_videogif_xpost_from/

                              http://www.reddit.com/r/reddit.com/comments/hnseq/amazing_slow_motion_lightning/

                              http://www.reddit.com/r/reddit.com/comments/gb8kq/slow_motion_lightning/

                              http://www.reddit.com/r/videos/comments/ceen4/incredible_lightning_display_captured_with_a_slow/

                              http://www.reddit.com/r/science/comments/awvwm/slow_motion_lightning_is_cooler_than_anything/

                              http://www.reddit.com/r/gif/comments/b4l4d/slow_motion_lightning/

                              http://www.reddit.com/r/science/comments/910qc/lightning_in_slow_motion/

                              Hell, even in video form:

                              http://www.reddit.com/r/woahdude/comments/9yfzs/lightning_in_slow_motion_video/

                              http://www.reddit.com/r/videos/comments/7tk8n/amazing_slow_motion_video_of_lightning_in_a_rain/

                              http://www.reddit.com/r/entertainment/comments/6vd6a/coolest_lightning_in_slow_motion_nature_is_so/

                              http://www.reddit.com/r/reddit.com/comments/6vknm/slow_motion_lightning_video_is_mindblowingits_a/

                              http://www.reddit.com/r/science/comments/7ggpl/lightning_in_slow_motion/

                              http://www.reddit.com/r/reddit.com/comments/7g205/lightning_in_super_slow_motion/

                              http://www.reddit.com/r/science/comments/6va94/lightning_in_super_slow_motion/

                              http://www.reddit.com/r/videos/comments/6va91/lightning_in_super_slow_motion/

                              [–]control_group 7 points8 points ago

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                              The majority of those posts have got fewer than 10 votes, and the only one with a large amount is from two years ago, so this is probably new to the majority of people here.

                              [–]KOWguy[S] 41 points42 points ago

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                              And yet, people are enjoying themselves.

                              [–]taniaelil 12 points13 points ago

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                              I believe this is a valid point.

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                                [–]99thBeerontheWall 1 point2 points ago

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                                puts on monacle Well I say chap that is a very thorough claim!

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                                  [–]yoho139 28 points29 points ago

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                                  Follows the path of least resistance until it can earth itself, at which point it discharges all the static from the clouds... Dayum Nature, you a badass!

                                  [–]icantdrive75 21 points22 points ago

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                                  I thought you accidentally a word, then I remembered Europe.

                                  [–]minamhere 12 points13 points ago

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                                  I didn't think anyone could ever forget Europe...

                                  [–]Whizbang 5 points6 points ago

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                                  Gay man here.

                                  I was there in the '80s. The '80s weren't that gay. Despite appearances. Really.

                                  [–]theCaptain_D 11 points12 points ago

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                                  YOU'RE Gay Man? What's it like being the world's foremost gay superhero?

                                  [–]GargamelCuntSnarf 8 points9 points ago

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                                  Fabulous, I'm sure.

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                                      [–]PFHarlock 1 point2 points ago

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                                      It's "earth" in Japan, as well.

                                      [–][deleted] 1 point2 points ago

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                                      Actually the main strike that you see goes from the ground UP to the clouds.

                                      This pretty path-finding algorithm is too fast and not bright enough for human eyes to see. This video was taken a something like 10,000fps.

                                      [–]SurfTaco 1 point2 points ago

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                                      yeah...but HOW?

                                      In those first few instances, it appears to be 'searching' for the path of least resistance, but HOW the fuck does it do that? And are those searching tentacles reabsorbed for the final shock?

                                      [–]lazyplayboy 5 points6 points ago

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                                      It's not the path of least resistance, it simply follows the local electrical field gradient at each direction change. It's almost certainly not the optimal path.

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                                        [–]shoegazer666 9 points10 points ago

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                                        Wow, this gif is older than the internet.

                                        [–]Subhazard 2 points3 points ago

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                                        For a second there, I thought the MST3k crew was sitting in front of the screen.

                                        [–]ssdorsey 2 points3 points ago

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                                        I wish this was posted more often

                                        [–]lukedobson90 1 point2 points ago

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                                        And Nature yelled "NYAAAAH!"

                                        [–][deleted] 1 point2 points ago

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                                        I think it's so interesting that lightening poses a striking resemblance to so many other things on Earth, like capillaries in our lungs, or the underside of a leaf. Can someone elaborate on this? One-a you scientific taps (types)

                                        [–]funkentelchy 1 point2 points ago*

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                                        I don't know much about it myself, but the shapes you're talking about all have fractal geometry. And fractals have a certain look to them.

                                        'Chaos: making a new science', by James Gleick is a good introduction for the layperson to this kind of stuff. Or if you don't mind a bit of math 'The fractal geometry of nature' by Benoit Mandelbrot is probably exactly what you're looking for.

                                        edit: Mandelbrot did a TED talk last year

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                                          [–]trevdak2 1 point2 points ago

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                                          OK, so, question:

                                          Electricity follows the path of least resistance, right? From my standpoint, we just watched a breadth-first-search done in LOG(N) time. couldn't this property of electricity be used to solve exponentially-difficult problems in very fast time?

                                          [–]Kelpherder 1 point2 points ago

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                                          It's like making a baby

                                          [–]MrBoog 1 point2 points ago

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                                          I saw an admittedly badass picture of lighting, but nothing to show or explain to me how it happend.

                                          Fuckin' lighting: how does it work?!

                                          [–]Echiilon 1 point2 points ago

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                                          Kinda reminds me of synapses firing. Like someone put an overlay of a brain onto it? pleease?

                                          [–]ThatInternetGuy 1 point2 points ago

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                                          Damn you clouds. You steal electrons from my ground.

                                          [–]PlumberODeth 1 point2 points ago

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                                          Like Missile Command?

                                          [–]WreckerCrew 1 point2 points ago

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                                          Holy shit, this pic is older then lightning.

                                          [–]SaraBee 8 points9 points ago

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                                          That really sparked my interest!

                                          [–]yoho139 21 points22 points ago

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                                          facepalm

                                          [–][deleted] ago

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                                          [deleted]

                                          [–]Harry_Relevante 0 points1 point ago

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                                          Really? I find the conversation electrifying

                                          [–]Isobar83 6 points7 points ago

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                                          It's important to keep up with current events.

                                          [–][deleted] ago

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                                          [deleted]

                                          [–]sodappop 0 points1 point ago

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                                          These puns are revolting.

                                          [–]tonictuna 14 points15 points ago

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                                          I hope you all die from a lightning strike

                                          [–]icantdrive75 10 points11 points ago

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                                          Don't be so negative.

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                                              [–]rbasov 1 point2 points ago

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                                              So, it's kinda like sperm: first to the finish wins.

                                              [–]HighlySpammable 1 point2 points ago

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                                              And now I want to watch Back to the Future.

                                              [–]jmricht 1 point2 points ago

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                                              Thank you, thank you, and thank you.

                                              [–]MisterAyon 0 points1 point ago

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                                              Yea but you gotta have Mallow, and your timing has to be just right.

                                              [–]PredatorKurwa 0 points1 point ago

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                                              The bolt comes from the ground. Most lighting comes from the ground

                                              [–][deleted] 0 points1 point ago

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                                              Dang! I didn't know that the fist little bolt that touches the ground shoots back up! How much is this slowed down?

                                              [–]DaLuDeD 1 point2 points ago

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                                              Well, the first "stepped leader" moves at 120km/s towards the ground. A typical trip is 20 milliseconds. So the video would have to be slower then that?

                                              (Source: http://www.wisegeek.com/does-lightning-travel-up-or-down.htm)

                                              [–]bounce7 0 points1 point ago

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                                              i just spent a good 10 minutes watching that

                                              [–]slayemin 0 points1 point ago

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                                              Fuck, the mathematician and computer programmer inside of me wants to discover the closest approximate algorithm for simulating lightning realistically.

                                              From what I can see, there is a large initial surge of energy which generates the tree like tendrils. The tendrils have a chance of forking and seem to wander somewhat erratically and dissipate in strength over time (inverse square rule?). I'm guessing that no tendril will ever traverse backwards along the same path it took. If you break down the lightning into extremely small increments of time and look at each tendril, you could probably find some maximal angle which the tendril will take (with some eventually leading back to the cloud). But, it seems that the initial burst gives most of the tendrils a directional velocity (downwards in this vid) (why?). Ugh, this video suggests a few interesting answers but creates even more questions. Why do some tendrils fade in intensity and then brighten again? What triggers the initial surge? Where does the directional velocity come from? What would happen if the cloud generates this surge pattern in empty space? Why does the color of lightning vary between blue, white and pink?

                                              [–]THETONYG 0 points1 point ago

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                                              Snodgrass teaches this best. Illini know what I'm talking about.

                                              [–]Aegean 0 points1 point ago

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                                              It can work in either direction, and cloud to cloud.

                                              All depends on the step-leaders and type of charge in the atmosphere at the time.

                                              [–][deleted] 0 points1 point ago

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                                              i thought lightning looked awesome before...i was so wrong. lightning is natures more incredible light show.

                                              [–]icewahine 0 points1 point ago

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                                              That's what lightning looks like... Now how the fuck does it work?

                                              [–]yankees714 0 points1 point ago

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                                              How thunder really works

                                              [–]BCouto 0 points1 point ago

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                                              Lightning is a static discharge on a massive scale. The friction caused by the clouds gets to a point where it just has to release so it strikes the nearest/tallest object.

                                              It is said that right before you get hit by lightning, the hair on your body will start to stand like they do if you were to do that balloon trick thing.

                                              [–]Nois3 0 points1 point ago

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                                              That's also how quantum probability works.

                                              [–]eazy_ 0 points1 point ago

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                                              awesome

                                              [–][deleted] 0 points1 point ago

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                                              I've lived in Hawaii for the first 25 years of my life and in that time, I had never seen a lightning bolt there. During electrical storms, there would be flashes of light in the clouds but never a lightning bolt. I wonder why that is so if this has never happened and if someone actually has seen one, then when and where and if so, why are they so rare? (I'm assuming that just because I've never seen a lightning bolt, that they may indeed occur there)

                                              [–]mmc21 0 points1 point ago

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                                              What happens is that it tries to find the fastest way to the most positive/negatively charged area and branches out to those areas when one connects to its designated area and completes the circuit. No longer looking for a route to the ground, the branches die due to loss of energy.

                                              Fact of the day: The reason why it is said that lightning doesn't strike twice is that when it strikes the ground, the positive/negative charges are depleted from the ground and clouds, while the cloud regains energy quite quickly, the ground is another story, although it is possible for it to happen, it is a slim chance.

                                              [–]Lemonegro 0 points1 point ago

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                                              No one else thought blood vessels?

                                              [–]jtruts 0 points1 point ago

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                                              I was expecting jelly fish.

                                              [–]quantumpsych 0 points1 point ago

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                                              where were the ions from the ground? The film I've seen always had a small, opposite discharge rise from the ground then connect to the opposite, descending charge.

                                              [–]knestleknox 0 points1 point ago

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                                              Id like know what camera with insane fps took that 0.o

                                              [–]nickpass 0 points1 point ago

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                                              i acutally got a pretty cool video of some lightning i recorded in las vegas (: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SN7fkqTtLWg&hd=1

                                              [–]haunchu 0 points1 point ago

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                                              it's like lots of sperms trying to get to the egg and when one finally hits the ground, a baby is born

                                              [–]shussain313 0 points1 point ago

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                                              That is so amazingly epic....

                                              [–]HZAres 0 points1 point ago

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                                              i hate to be the ground for that arc.

                                              [–]lionelboydjohnson 0 points1 point ago

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                                              Giggidy giggidy... hehe.

                                              [–]Janky_Pants 0 points1 point ago

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                                              Interesting. I didn't know it sent out feelers like that.

                                              [–]skintigh 0 points1 point ago

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                                              I was expecting hundreds of people to be arguing that lighting starts at the ground and that this video is fake/backwards/the exception.

                                              [–]SarahGadz 0 points1 point ago

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                                              thats fucking awesome(:

                                              [–]FluoCantus 0 points1 point ago

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                                              I LOVE how you can watch that little branch hit the ground just barely before the others and completing the path, creating the bolt. So sick.

                                              [–]tilted624 0 points1 point ago

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                                              I feel like antient people looked at this and REALLY did think it was Zeus throwin big bolts at bitches. Haha I mean I definitely see that shit FOR SUREEE.

                                              [–]BobCox 0 points1 point ago

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                                              Re-post but a good one

                                              [–]Osmodius 0 points1 point ago

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                                              ...I call black magic.

                                              [–]OMallyRed 0 points1 point ago

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                                              Soooo, sperm?

                                              [–]r00x 0 points1 point ago

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                                              Has anyone ever been within thirty feet of a lightening strike? Because holy shit. I'm guessing I'm alive because avalanche breakdown doesn't happen with every strike? Impressive tendril range in that gif there.

                                              [–]dylanwtn 0 points1 point ago

                                              sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

                                              That's just Billy Batson becoming Captain Marvel.

                                              load more comments (58 replies)

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