Question
Answer the following:
What are the forms of energy into which the electrical energy of the atmosphere is dissipated during a lightning?
[Hint: The earth has an electric field of about 100 Vm–1 at its surface in the downward direction, corresponding to a surface charge density = –10–9 Cm–2. Due to the slight conductivity of the atmosphere up to about 50 km (beyond which it is good conductor), about + 1800 C is pumped every second into the earth as a whole. The earth, however, does not get discharged since thunderstorms and lightning occurring continually all over the globe pump an equal amount of negative charge on the earth.)
Solution
Electrical energy of the atmosphere is dissipated as
(i) light energy, involved in lightning.
(ii) heat and sound energy, in accompanying thunder.
