From: utzoo!decvax!cwruecmp!glassner
Newsgroups: net.physics
Title: Re: lightning
Article-I.D.: cwruecmp.434
Posted: Tue Jan 25 12:10:27 1983
Received: Fri Jan 28 01:15:01 1983


	When in high school my physics prof described
lightning this way:  A high potential difference builds
between the surface of the Earth and the storm clouds
above, which are chock-full of ions.
	The air in-between ionizes, and when there's
enough ionization to permit conduction between Earth
and sky, ZAP!  Lightning actually does not "fall from
the sky", but is a two-way connection between heaven
and Earth.
	He claimed that this explained the usually-true
myth that "lightning doesn't strike twice in one place."
The idea was that the short-circuit removes all the
available ions in an area, so it's not likely that a
new potential difference will build up there soon.

	-Not afraid to be wrong,
		-Andrew Glassner
      		 decvax!cwruecmp!glassner