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Lightning filmed at over 7,000 frames per second

Thanks for posting that - crazy crazy stuff, but awesome all the same
 
Yes, especially if you keep in mind that it originates from several kilometers above the ground, something that is easy to forget when watching it in a small video.

Within a few ten milliseconds it reaches down, just to "flash back upwards" from the point it made contact within a few frames. At >7k fps, no less. That's quite some speed.

Not to mention the energy involved in all this.

Nature is just awesome.

Greetings,

Chris

ETA: I'm wondering how that 8-shaped loop at the to of the lightning is formed and how it comes that it is active for quite some time, even after the lightning itself made ground contact.
 
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Does the ground to sky current really last that long without wavering? When it first goes up you see the intensity vary, but then it is perfectly still. The camera is still going because there is one more background flash. It's very curious.
 
Many of the branches seem to be moving balls of light with weaker tails, some nearly invisible. I didn't expect that.
 
Ah, well if xkcd mentions something interest in it goes up so people that don't read it are more likely to come across the subject mentioned.

I liked the imaginary 60m radius sphere you roll over the landscape he used to explain how you can find out which feature or structure is most likely to get hit if lightning strikes there. I didn't like that he completely glossed over why its radius is approximately 60m.

ETA:
If I interpret the dielectric breakdown field strength figures at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dielectric_strength correctly, that would mean that there's a difference of 180MV between the tip of the downward snakes and the ground? Or am I completely misunderstanding this?
 
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Christian Klippel said:
Yes, especially if you keep in mind that it originates from several kilometers above the ground, something that is easy to forget when watching it in a small video.
Click to expand...

Yes, there's very cool stuff going on high up in the atmosphere at the same time.

 
Turgor said:
I liked the imaginary 60m radius sphere you roll over the landscape he used to explain how you can find out which feature or structure is most likely to get hit if lightning strikes there. I didn't like that he completely glossed over why its radius is approximately 60m.
?
Click to expand...

Why is the radius 60m ?
 
LandR said:
Why is the radius 60m ?
Click to expand...

I don't know. It struck me as an arbitrary radius that could vary by how strong of an electric field is created, but I just accepted the figure.

I'm reading up on the dielectric breakdown of air and how many volts are discharged by lightning, but I'm not sure that's enough to estimate how far up that final discharge to the ground starts. I was hoping someone more knowledgeable could chime in though.
 
Christian Klippel said:
ETA: I'm wondering how that 8-shaped loop at the to of the lightning is formed and how it comes that it is active for quite some time, even after the lightning itself made ground contact.
Click to expand...

It'd probably be more clear if you could see it in three dimensions. Ooo...new cool video, *2* 7k fps cameras set a distance apart....
 
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