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Saturday, November 25, 2017

Lightning Is Nuclear

Hydrogen, H2, with Zm=2, density 0.08988gL1, molar mass 1.00784gmol1

vboom=3.43540.0898812=0.154ms1

Tboom=0.15421.0078410328.3144=1.44e6K

This is way low, practically at zero Kelvin.

Water at 80oC, with a density of 971.8kgm3,

vboomwater=3.4354971.810=333.85ms1

Which is about lightning speed of 332ms1.  Is lightning nuclear?  What raise water temperature to 80oC in the first place?  Density of condensed water droplets in the air could change with air currents to 971.8kgm3 without an increase in temperature.  It is just mixing air into water to bring down the density of water.

vboom causes the lightning to race at vboom speed after initiation because the particles exit/separate at vboom speed (post "Sonic Boom" dated 14 Oct 2017 and post "No Solution But Exit Velocity Anyway" dated 14 Jul 2015).  But, how does lightning start?

Given temperature, the spread of velocities (Boltzmann distribution) among the water molecules provides that some are at vboom speed.  Given similar water density across wide region, lightning can propagate from end to end.

The waiting factor is for condensed water in the clouds to be at the right density of 971.8kgm3.

Goodnight.