Formation of electrical discharges
You rays are big dischargeselectric that arise in the atmosphere when the electric field between the clouds (or between the clouds and the ground) reaches values close to 3.106 V/m (three million volts per meter) at sea level.
For great heights, this value is smaller, as the air becomes rarefied because of the low pressures. Atmospheric air is a medium insulating, however, in the presence of a large electric field, it becomes a conductor, thus allowing the passage of electric current and giving rise to rays. The name given to this phenomenon is rupture of dielectric strength donate.
The cloud charge comes from friction
The loads that give rise to the greatfieldelectric of the clouds are produced by the friction of the small particles of ice, droplets and steaminWater in constant movement within you. This movement, in turn, comes from the differenceintemperature between the parts of the cloud and is called the current of convection. Lightning can generate
electric currents from to 200 kA (two hundred thousand amps). Such an electric current is capable of heating the air through which it travels at temperatures of up to 30,000 °C, almost fivetimes hotter than the surface temperature of the Sun!See too:Why doesn't the Moon fall to Earth?
faster than sound
O timeaverage that an electrical discharge takes to arrive untilthe soil is approximately 0.2 seconds, and the highest speed ever observed for lightning was measured by the National Institute for Space Research (inpe), in the city of São José dos Campos. The observed speed reached the barrier of 1980km/s (nine hundred kilometers per second). In addition, it is estimated that the eachsecond, arise between 50 and 100 lightning around the world. One onlydischarge electric can deposit up to 30C (thirty Coulombs) of charge on Earth, ie about 1020 electrons!
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The country with the highest incidence of lightning
Brazil is the country with biggerincidence of rays from all over the world. are about 58millions of electrical discharges peryear. The determining factors of this equation are the climatetropical, which favors the formation of storms, and yours greatextensionterritorial. Besides, who said that lightning does not fall twice in the same place lied, since, according to the inpe, about sixrays they reach the statue of Christ the Redeemer every year. In 2010, around 7 million reais were used to renovate the tourist attraction, mainly due to lightning and rain.
See too:What is the weight of a cloud?
SOS rain
In view of the high incidence of lightning in urban areas in Brazil, the Inpe, in partnership with the CPTEC (Center for Weather Forecasting and Climate Studies), developed an application for smartphones called SOSRain. The application monitors Alagoas, Bahia, Distrito Federal, Minas Gerais, Mato Grosso do Sul, Pernambuco, Rio de Janeiro, Rio Grande do Norte, Rio Grande do Sul, Santa Catarina and São Paulo, warning the user about the formation of rain, as well as the incidence of lightning in time real. The application download is available for Android and iOS platforms.
By Rafael Hellerbrock
Graduated in Physics
Would you like to reference this text in a school or academic work? Look:
HELERBROCK, Rafael. "Five trivia about the rays that will make your hair stand on end"; Brazil School. Available in: https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/fisica/cinco-curiosidades-sobre-os-raios-que-te-deixarao-cabelo-pe.htm. Accessed on June 27, 2021.
Physics
Do you know what an electric field is? The electric field is vector, that is, at each point in space it has a specific module, direction and direction. The electric field is responsible for the emergence of forces of attraction and repulsion between electrical charges. Its units are Volts per meter or Newtons per coulomb.
