Why lightning strikes the highest places(번개가 잘 떨어지는 곳)

Lightning strikes have been a mystery to mankind since the appearance of thought. In the long past, people were afraid of it, and imagined it as a weapon of Zeus. We are still unearthing the mysteries of lightning, and there are still a few unsolved ones, but that's not the point. One of the most interesting facts about lightning strikes is that they seem to hit only high places. Then how come lightnings 'know' where the highest place is?

 

There are several types of lightning, but in this article, only CG lightning will be explained. CG lightning, or cloud to ground lightning, is a type of lightning that starts from the clouds and reaches the ground. There are two kinds of CG lightnings; one is caused by negative charge from the lower part of a cloud, and another is from the positive charges located on the higher parts of a cloud. A positive charge lightning is called a megalightning. 

 

If you see a slow motion lightning strike video, there will be tendrils of light streching out from the cloud headed to the ground, just before the main strike. This is the trail of ionized air, which means that elecrons are separated from particles that make up air. The electrical charge/energy is ionizes an air particle located near, which causes a chain reaction of air ionization, resulting what you see as tendrils of light. When the tendrils spread out, it is likely that higher objects get conected with it first. A path of ionized air connected with an object on the ground or ground itself makes a 'road' of conducting material, allowing the charges in the cloud to follow the trail, as the actual strike. This is the blinding 'flash' that comes after the tendrils.  

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dukkO7c2eUE

slow motion lightninig strike

cover image:https://wallpaperaccess.com/real-lightning