I’m working on a mind map for lightning, here is what I have so far
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lightning
Lightning is a electrostatic discharge where two electrically charged regions in the atmosphere temporarily equalize themselves
Lightning creates a wide range of electromagnetic radiations from the very hot plasma created by the electron flow, including visible light in the form of black-body radiation
Thunder is the sound formed by the shock wave formed as gaseous molecules experience a rapid pressure increase.
A 100 lightning bolts strike Earth’s surface every single second
1,400,000,000 strikes every year.
types of lightning are cloud to ground, inter cloud, cloud to cloud
Types of cloud-to-ground lightning include staccato, forked, ribbon, and bead lightening. –Staccato lightning is a strike which is a short-duration stroke that often, but not always, appears as a single very bright flash and often has considerable branching
Lightning produces:
an Electric field
an Electric current
Up to one billion volts of electricity.
Antimatter
x-rays
Gamma rays
Free neutrons
Muons
Heats the air to 30,000 °C 5x hotter the the sun
A potential of around 1.3GV (1.3 billion volts).
Holds a charge of 1100C (Coulomb is the unit of electric charge: a single electron is 1.6×10-19C) and held an energy of more than 720GJ. delivers more than 2GW of power,
ref
https://arstechnica.com/science/2019/03/thunderstorm-with-eye-popping-720gj-of-energy/
The average length of a lightning bolt is about 2-3 miles.
The actual width of a lightning bolt is only about 2-3 cm
An actual lightning strike travels at a comparatively gentile 270,000 mph.while the light it produces travels at (670,000,000 mph)
Lightning strikes usually last around 1 or 2 microseconds.
Lightning can produce red or blue sprites that stretch above the storm
Lightning is usually produced by cumulonimbus clouds that are very tall and dense.
Lightning can also occur during in: volcanic eruptions, dust storms, snow storms, forest fires, tornadoes, helicopters, airplane contrails, rocket exhaust plumes, thermonuclear explosions, rocket and laser triggered.
The study of lightning is known as fulminology.
Astraphobia is the fear of thunder and lightning.
Over 2000 people die each year from lightning hits.
Lake Maracaibo in Venezuela is a place on Earth that receives the most lightning strikes. Thunderstorms occur 140-160 nights per year with an average of 28 lightning strikes per minute lasting up to 10 hours at a time producing as many as 40,000 lightning strikes a night!
Most lightning occurs over land rather than oceans, with around 70% of it occurring in the Tropics.
Air quality
The very high temperatures generated by lightning lead to significant local increases in ozone and oxides of nitrogen. Each lightning flash in temperate and sub-tropical areas produces 7 kg of NOx on average. In the troposphere the effect of lightning can increase NOx by 90% and ozone by 30%.