That spray, by itself, produces small electrical charges ... energy is built up in clouds and then released as lightning. Since these mini bolts are so hard to see, the researchers captured ...

As the positive charges collect in high enough concentration, they send out small bolts of ground to air lightning called streamers. If the streamers can make contact with the step leader ...

But real lightning would have struck infrequently—and mostly in open ocean, where organic compounds would have quickly ...

To study otherwise unpredictable thunder and lightning, SwRI scientists launch small rockets trailing grounded ... The copper wire creates a conductive path for the bolt so the team can focus ...

This is the archetypal lightning bolt, one that arcs out of the sky and smites the ground with a great, often flickering flash of light. Lightning is the sudden release of built-up charge stored ...

More than 90 percent of lightning bolts strike over the continents ... But, he adds: “There’s a big difference between that small-scale lab study and actual lightning. There’s a whole ...