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Scientists have figured out why lightning strikes certain places, which may help predict future lightning strikes.
The study, published in Geophysical Research Letters, claims to provide answers to a “pressing question” in a 10-second video of a lightning strike, according to The Science Times.
The video, although it was captured using an ultrafast camera, shows the way a lightning strike develops in just fractions of a second.
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Lightning occurs very quickly, and because of this, its origin cannot be known only by the human eye. Due to technological advances, it quickly became apparent that lightning was not just a thunderbolt traveling from the cloud to the ground, despite the emission of unbalanced charges in both the ground and the clouds.
The study refers to the locations of the Earth identified for the natural phenomenon as “signs” that include light poles and trees that connect to “lightning leaders” from the cloud.
The new paper reveals exactly where the lightning link occurred, but the final location of the lightning strike cannot be determined when it begins to form in the sky.
In their study, the researchers revealed for the first time a pair of consecutive, clear images of the formation of standard signage regions in natural lightning.
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The study’s co-lead author, Robin Jian, explained that the process of attaching lightning is the process that ultimately determines the place or object that will be struck by the flash of lightning.
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The study authors said that they were able to “put more weight behind the theory that lightning coming from a cloud meets a single current from the earth, forms an absolute bond and emits intense energy in the form of a thunderbolt from plasma.”
Source: Daily Star
