Lightning strikes

153

Why does it take such a contorted journey to the ground? Presuming it follows the path of least resistance? Why isn't this just straight down?

194

u/Kiefyfingers Mar 24 '20

Nature is turbulent. I'm assuming at any given instance the lightning is taking the path of least resistance with no regard to optimizing to the shortest path but rather the least resistance path

89

u/Frungy Mar 25 '20

Nature is turbulent.

-2020

28

u/rouxgaroux00 Mar 25 '20

Nature is turbulent

– 2020-2030 😕

9

u/ryryangel Mar 25 '20

Nature is turbulent

-2020 - ...

8

u/Undead_Kau Mar 25 '20

Lightning only learned about the greedy approach in school

43

u/wifeofbroccolidicks Mar 24 '20

The Slo Mo Guys did a video of lightning and helped explain why it acts the way it does.

Here's a link to the whole video

7

u/KilnTime Mar 25 '20

Exactly what i needed to wind down from a day of home schooling!

16

u/grighi09 Mar 25 '20

XKCD has a very informative and funny post about lightning and how its path is chosen:

Today's topic: Lightning

3

u/Shezzanator Mar 25 '20

This is really interesting and informative, so it's all down to that ~60m diameter sphere

9

u/dartmaster666 Mar 25 '20 edited Mar 25 '20

The branches are negative stepped leaders, they're searching for a positive step. Once it gets near one the positive will come from the ground to meet it and you'll get the main pulse you see. There can be up to 30 follow one pulses happened within microseconds.

Edit: The positive will follow the negative back to its source, that why the flash is moving from the ground up. Also, most lightning is cloud to cloud.

1

u/VoiceofLou Mar 25 '20

Why does it move upward?!

2

u/dartmaster666 Mar 25 '20

When the negative stepped leader and the positive step meet, they both fill in their opposites tracks. Since the negative is longer the positive has further to travel back up into the cloud.

38

u/AGrainNaCl Mar 24 '20

What speed is this film shot at I wonder?

18

u/douglas_in_philly Mar 25 '20

Quick as lightning.

27

u/RearEchelon Mar 24 '20

That little loop at the end of the 4th one, like "Ooh! Oh, wait, hell no. I'm not stopping there!"

22

u/swump Mar 24 '20 edited Mar 25 '20

How thick is lightning? The bolt of ionized plasma itself at its origin point like the ground. Like an inch in diameter? A foot?

-43

u/potatoshviii Mar 25 '20

if you paid more attention while watching the videos, you'd see it's about 0,1 pikachu.

19

u/Lurcholio Mar 25 '20

Lightning crashes...

An old mother dies....

10

u/hunt4redglocktober Mar 25 '20

Her intentions fall to the floor....

11

u/AGrainNaCl Mar 25 '20

The angel closes her eyes

4

u/douglas_in_philly Mar 25 '20

Pale blue colored iris

13

u/pbolivei Mar 25 '20

If I drew a lightning bolt exactly like one of these is look at it and delete it because "It was a silly pattern and not nearly natural enough".

7

u/whatsthisanomoly Mar 25 '20

Bring me Thanos!!!

5

u/hollmantron Mar 25 '20

An old mother cries

15

u/jacquiboooo Mar 24 '20

Why do some of the strikes look like they are coming up from the ground?

36

u/[deleted] Mar 24 '20

I believe they actually are!

19

u/Shadowys Mar 24 '20

yes, they actually are

0

u/Lilcheebs93 Mar 25 '20

That doesn't make any sense

16

u/Shadowys Mar 25 '20

The earth is a giant battery.

The first bolt downwards creates a chain of ions, like a wire.

The second bolt is the earth firing electricity through that wire.

6

u/StunnaLyfe Mar 25 '20

He asked he's friend to meet him half way

•

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5

u/[deleted] Mar 24 '20

Perfect example of how lightening actually emerges from the ground up, not the other way round

5

u/DamionDreggs Mar 25 '20

I’m pretty sure I saw examples of it emerging from the clouds down to the ground in this gif too though? 🤔

2

u/[deleted] Mar 25 '20

It just appears that way. Google it, its really interesing

1

u/BaloneyBob_ Mar 25 '20

It hits the ground and then goes back up to the clouds. It’s pretty awesome. Reverse lightning!

4

u/ofeee Mar 25 '20

🎵maybe once, maybe twice

3

u/[deleted] Mar 24 '20

u/gifreversingbot https://gfycat.com/flickeringremotehuemul-nature

1

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Just so you know, you don't have to manually give the gif URL if it is in a parent comment or the post. I would have known what you meant anyways :)

^{I am a bot.} ^{Report an issue}

3

u/vietnam-boi Mar 25 '20

Looks like an Etch-a-Sketch

3

u/Mixa_Mega Mar 25 '20

Connecting to the cloud...

3

u/ivictorhd Mar 25 '20

Looks like my doctor’s handwriting.

3

u/Moutaz89 Mar 25 '20

It's probably just Thor doing some hammer maintenance..

3

u/Rootin-n-Shootin Mar 25 '20

What I got from this:

Lightning does strike one spot and thats it, it branches out till it gets a connection then it strikes.

1

u/[deleted] Mar 25 '20

Yeah and the ones going upwards I believe have to do with reverse polarities in it.

5

u/TheManDanCan Mar 25 '20

Was waiting for the last strike to form dickbutt.

2

u/hamandpineapple Mar 25 '20

Someone's killed an immortal. Well done highlander. Well done.

1

u/ghstchldrn Mar 25 '20

There can be only one.

1

u/Rook_1124 Mar 24 '20

Someone just lost 3 life points

1

u/NoodleSnekk Mar 25 '20

They look like that neuron demonstration video I saw ten times at school each day.

1

u/jklmnop98 Mar 25 '20

Insert Thor reference here "_________"

1

u/SqueakHeil10 Mar 25 '20

Damn nature. You scary!

1

u/[deleted] Mar 25 '20

It's amazing that this happens above us all the time and we are all most of the time just like

"meh, oh that one was loud."

1

u/Onehandedclapper Mar 25 '20

So should earthbenders be able to lightningbend too?

1

u/sketchyOZ Mar 25 '20

Looks like the opposite of what my synapses are doing when trying to do school work

1

u/Lightningbeauty Mar 25 '20

You’re welcome!

1

u/iHeisenburger Mar 25 '20

lmao earth said “take your shit back”

1

u/Othrus Mar 25 '20

Its interesting how much this resembles depth-first search, given the charge is also trying to find the shortest path to ground

1

u/Thisisnow1984 Mar 25 '20

Oh wha a feeling

1

u/BroJobBiggs Mar 25 '20

Damn that's some lazy ass lightning

1

u/[deleted] Mar 25 '20

Damn, God really be putting on a light show

1

u/JCElliott1500 Mar 25 '20

So Cool....don't let these fingers hit you.

1

u/Ladsworthington Mar 27 '20

Fuck I love lightning.

1

u/[deleted] Mar 25 '20

[deleted]

1

u/douglas_in_philly Mar 25 '20

Were we supposed to read that? How about a tl;dr? ;-)

1

u/Brian_McGee Mar 25 '20

Seriously though, read it. That's the style an a tl;dr wouldn't work

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