Lightning Working
Lightning
Perhaps the most known and powerful display of electrostatics in nature is a lightning storm. Lightning storms are inescapable from humankind's attention. They are never invited, never planned and never gone unnoticed. The rage of a lightning strike will wake a person in the middle of the night. They send children rushing into parent's bedrooms, crying for assurance that everything will be safe. The fury of a lightning strike is capable of interrupting midday conversations and activities. They're the frequent cause of canceled ball games and golf outings. Children and adults alike crowd around windows to watch the lightning displays in the sky, standing in awe of the power of static discharges. Indeed, a lightning storm is the most powerful display of electrostatics in nature.
In this part of Lesson 4, we will ponder two questions: * What is the cause and mechanism associated with lightning strikes? * How do lightning rods serve to protect buildings from the devastating affects of a lightning strike? Static Charge Buildup in the Clouds
The scientific community has long pondered the cause of lightning strikes. Even today, it is the subject of a good deal of scientific research and theorizing. The details of how a cloud becomes statically charged are not completely understood (as of this writing). Nonetheless there are several theories that make a good deal of sense and that demonstrate many concepts previously discussed in this unit of The Physics Classroom.
The precursor of any lightning strike is the polarization of positive and negative charges within a storm cloud. The tops of the storm clouds are known to acquire an excess of positive charge and the bottoms of the storm clouds acquire an excess of negative charge. Two mechanisms seem important to the polarization process. One mechanism involves a separation of charge by a process that bears resemblance to frictional charging. Clouds are known to contain countless millions of suspended
Perhaps the most known and powerful display of electrostatics in nature is a lightning storm. Lightning storms are inescapable from humankind's attention. They are never invited, never planned and never gone unnoticed. The rage of a lightning strike will wake a person in the middle of the night. They send children rushing into parent's bedrooms, crying for assurance that everything will be safe. The fury of a lightning strike is capable of interrupting midday conversations and activities. They're the frequent cause of canceled ball games and golf outings. Children and adults alike crowd around windows to watch the lightning displays in the sky, standing in awe of the power of static discharges. Indeed, a lightning storm is the most powerful display of electrostatics in nature.
In this part of Lesson 4, we will ponder two questions: * What is the cause and mechanism associated with lightning strikes? * How do lightning rods serve to protect buildings from the devastating affects of a lightning strike? Static Charge Buildup in the Clouds
The scientific community has long pondered the cause of lightning strikes. Even today, it is the subject of a good deal of scientific research and theorizing. The details of how a cloud becomes statically charged are not completely understood (as of this writing). Nonetheless there are several theories that make a good deal of sense and that demonstrate many concepts previously discussed in this unit of The Physics Classroom.
The precursor of any lightning strike is the polarization of positive and negative charges within a storm cloud. The tops of the storm clouds are known to acquire an excess of positive charge and the bottoms of the storm clouds acquire an excess of negative charge. Two mechanisms seem important to the polarization process. One mechanism involves a separation of charge by a process that bears resemblance to frictional charging. Clouds are known to contain countless millions of suspended