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Related Concept Videos

Electric Charges01:11

Electric Charges

From lightning during thunderstorms to electronic devices, the phenomenon of electromagnetism is all around us. The electromagnetic force is one of the four fundamental forces of nature. It has been known to humanity in various forms for thousands of years. For example, the ancient Greek philosopher Thales of Miletus recorded his experiments on static electricity using amber and fur in the sixth century BC.
The English physicist William Gilbert studied the phenomenon of static electricity in...
Equipotential Surfaces and Conductors01:16

Equipotential Surfaces and Conductors

For a conductor in which all charges are at rest, the conductor's surface is equipotential. The electric field is always perpendicular to equipotential surfaces. Therefore, in a conductor with static charges, the electric field just outside the conductor is always perpendicular to the conductor's surface. Any tangential component of the electric field will cause charges to move inside the conductor, which will violate the electrostatic nature of the system. In an electrostatic situation, if a...
The Electrical Double Layer01:30

The Electrical Double Layer

In the region where two bulk phases meet, an intricate electric charge distribution arises due to charge transfer, ion adsorption, molecular orientation, and charge distortion. This complex distribution is commonly referred to as the electrical double layer.When a solid electrode interfaces with ions in an electrolyte solution, the speed of electron transfer dictates the rates of oxidation and reduction. The electrode acquires a charge through the escape of atoms into the solution as cations or...
Electric Field Lines01:25

Electric Field Lines

The three-dimensional representation of the electric field of a positive point charge requires tracing the electric field vectors, whose lengths decrease as the square of their distance from the charge and which point away from the charge at each point. This vector field is no doubt challenging to visualize. The visualization of electric fields becomes quickly intractable as the number of charges increases.
The solution to this problem is to use electric field lines, which are not vectors but...
Charging Conductors By Induction01:15

Charging Conductors By Induction

The Earth is a good conductor of electricity, and it is so big that it can be considered an infinite source or sink of charges. It can easily exchange charges with any matter.
Generally, conductors like metals do not allow any excess charge to be present on them. Any excess charge added to metals easily flows away, for example, when a metal is placed on the Earth. This process is called earthing.
However, conductors can be charged by a process called induction. For example, consider charging a...
Charge on a Conductor01:26

Charge on a Conductor

An interesting property of a conductor in static equilibrium is that extra charges on the conductor end up on its outer surface, regardless of where they originate. Consider a hollow metallic conductor with a uniform surface charge density. Since the conductor itself is in electrostatic equilibrium, there should not be any electric field inside the conductor. Now, assume a Gaussian surface enclosing the hollow portion. Applying Gauss's law, the inner surface of the hollow conductor will not...

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Method for Recording Broadband High Resolution Emission Spectra of Laboratory Lightning Arcs
07:51

Method for Recording Broadband High Resolution Emission Spectra of Laboratory Lightning Arcs

Published on: August 27, 2019

Lightning-induced extensive charge sheets provide long range electrostatic thunderstorm detection.

A J Bennett1, R G Harrison

  • 1Bristol Industrial and Research Associates Limited, Post Office Box 2, Portishead, Bristol, BS20 7JB, United Kingdom. alec.bennett@biral.com

Physical Review Letters
|August 13, 2013
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Distant lightning events reveal unusual electrostatic field changes inconsistent with standard models. Researchers identified a large, horizontally extensive charge sheet above thunderstorms, suggesting a mesospheric halo effect.

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Area of Science:

  • Atmospheric science
  • Electromagnetism
  • Geophysics

Background:

  • Standard models of lightning-induced electrostatic fields typically follow an inverse cube law with distance.
  • Observations of distant lightning events sometimes present anomalies not explained by current theories.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate anomalous electrostatic field changes from distant lightning.
  • To identify the characteristics of severe lightning events and their atmospheric electrical structure.

Main Methods:

  • Combined electrostatic field change measurements with radio frequency lightning location data.
  • Utilized two measurement sites to analyze electric field polarity reversals.
  • Analyzed data from exceptionally distant lightning events.

Main Results:

  • Observed lightning-induced electrostatic field changes inconsistent with the inverse cube law at great distances.
  • Identified a transition zone where the electric field response polarity reverses.
  • Inferred the presence of a horizontally extensive charge sheet above thunderstorms.

Conclusions:

  • Severe lightning events are associated with a horizontally extensive charge sheet.
  • This charge distribution is consistent with a large-scale mesospheric halo (several hundred kilometers).
  • The findings challenge conventional understanding of lightning's electrical effects at extreme distances.