Tl;dr lightings may be caused by electrons/positrons from outer space hitting a cloud and initiating an "avalanche" of electrons.
Cosmic rays are mostly protons, not electrons or positrons. You're mixing up to separate theories in the article.
What causes lightning? The answer keeps getting more interesting
11–20 of 61 posts
Re: What causes lightning? The answer keeps getting more interesting
#12[flagged]
Re: What causes lightning? The answer keeps getting more interesting
#13That 7 second video of a small rocket shot into a cloud to induce a lightning strike (about half way down the article) is incredible. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5BJIiX9_c_M Any ideas why the lightning strike appears mostly green (and momentarily purple and orange)?
Copper emits a green-blue light in the flame test https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dwsexjcROH4
Re: What causes lightning? The answer keeps getting more interesting
#14[flagged]
Never mind this kind of lightning, it gets really interesting when we start to look at ball lightning, which is very real but rarely sighted.
Re: What causes lightning? The answer keeps getting more interesting
#15Tl;dr lightings may be caused by electrons/positrons from outer space hitting a cloud and initiating an "avalanche" of electrons.
Much of the time they occur when two weather fronts of different temperatures collide with each other.
Re: What causes lightning? The answer keeps getting more interesting
#16So, nothing new? The cosmic ray hypothesis has been dominant for a few years now. This magazine…
> So, nothing new?
> The cosmic ray hypothesis has been dominant for a few years now.
> This magazine…
I think saying "This magazine…" as if the flaws of Quanta are well understood and agreed may need additional elaboration. If you mean that experts have known this—well, the role of Quanta is to disseminate and explain expert research to scientifically literate non-experts; it is not meant to be distributing the latest research itself.
Re: What causes lightning? The answer keeps getting more interesting
#17[flagged]
Not to be flip, but, depending on what "fully" means, we haven't fully understood much of anything about the real world.
Re: What causes lightning? The answer keeps getting more interesting
#18[flagged]
Never mind this kind of lightning, it gets really interesting when we start to look at ball lightning, which is very real but rarely sighted.
As a child I saw an acted segment about ball lightning in childrens‘ TV, following a person around the house, and had nightmares for a long time afterwards. The thing is spooky as hell.
Re: What causes lightning? The answer keeps getting more interesting
#19[flagged]
It is cool that something so seemingly ordinary is extraordinary.
Re: What causes lightning? The answer keeps getting more interesting
#20Tl;dr lightings may be caused by electrons/positrons from outer space hitting a cloud and initiating an "avalanche" of electrons.
Cosmic rays are mostly protons, not electrons or positrons. You're mixing up to separate theories in the article.
Well, the primary particles that hit the atmosphere are mostly protons. They cause avalanche of secondaires that are varied but mostly muons,