150 million volt electric shock

2001/08/27 Elhuyar Zientzia

• Fisika
• Klima

On
Friday we show you a table that relates the temperature to the relative humidity of the environment, and sure that this weekend more than one has had the opportunity to comment it among friends. And the farce we have had these last days has not been easy.

But, as usual, the fargo has not come alone and we have received the visit of the storm. In some places he has thrown big squalls and in others only four drops have fallen. But in any case, I'm sure both have served to refresh the atmosphere a little.

Today, the humidity of the air is evident and the surface of the earth is very hot. In this situation there are various processes in the atmosphere that lead to clouds with the negative bottom and the positively charged top. When the negative load of the lower part is very high, it repels the negative loads of the terrestrial surface, leaving the surface of the land positively charged.

In the end, the potential difference between cloud and earth is so great that the air surrounding the cloud is somehow broken, ionized. The current then spreads through the air to neutralize the distribution of loads. The propagation speed of air discharge may vary between 30,000 and 160,000 km/s. When it happens, the air warms so much that in the end it gives a lot of light. And look, the ray!

But the lightning never comes in silence. As the air spreads so sharply, a pressure wave is created that produces thunder. To us, when we listen, it seems to us that it grazes and repeats itself, because we perceive the noise that we hear more and more close to the base of the cloud. In addition, this noise is confused with the echo produced by natural and artificial barriers. But, calm, it's just a discharge of about 150 million volts!

More information:

Lightning: Electric discharge 150 million volts