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Lightning is a natural phenomenon, more specifically an atmospheric electrical phenomenon. It consists of electrostatic discharges occurring through the atmosphere between two electrically charged regions, either both existing within the atmosphere or one within the atmosphere and one on the ground, with these regions then becoming partially or wholly electrically neutralized.
Lightning currents have a very fast rise time, on the order of 40 kA per microsecond. Hence, although lightning is a form of direct current, conductors of such currents exhibit marked skin effect as with an alternating current, causing most of the currents to flow through the outer surface of the conductor. [32]
The global electromagnetic resonance phenomenon is named after physicist Winfried Otto Schumann who predicted it mathematically in 1952. Schumann resonances are the principal background in the part of the electromagnetic spectrum [2] from 3 Hz through 60 Hz [3] and appear as distinct peaks at extremely low frequencies around 7.83 Hz (fundamental), 14.3, 20.8, 27.3, and 33.8 Hz.
A lightning strike can also create a large Lichtenberg figure in grass surrounding the point struck. These are sometimes found on golf courses or in grassy meadows. [ 12 ] Branching root-shaped " fulgurite " mineral deposits may also be created as sand and soil are fused into glassy tubes by the intense heat of the current.
Representation of upper-atmospheric lightning and electrical-discharge phenomena Discovery image of a TLE on Jupiter by the NASA Juno probe. [1]Upper-atmospheric lightning and ionospheric lightning are terms sometimes used by researchers to refer to a family of short-lived electrical-breakdown phenomena that occur well above the altitudes of normal lightning and storm clouds.