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lightning

File:Port_and_lighthouse_overnight_storm_with_lightning_in_Port-la-Nouvelle.jpg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons

EntityQ33741· pop 173· linked from 2,049 articles

thumb|upright=1.5|Strokes of cloud-to-ground lightning strike the Mediterranean Sea off of Port-la-Nouvelle in southern France.

AI overview

Lightning is a powerful electrical discharge that occurs between clouds and the ground during thunderstorms. It matters because it poses a significant hazard to people, structures, and the environment when it strikes.

AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.

In the Vinony graph

Within Vinony's link graph, lightning is referenced by 2,049 other articles, and connects out to wildfire, keraunopathy and atmosphere.

It sits within the topics Atmospheric electricity, Electrical breakdown and Electrical phenomena.

Its subject is documented across 154 Wikipedia language editions.

Research

3,143 papers

via PubMed

Wikidata facts

Duration
125
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Lightning Pritzerbe 01 (MK).jpg
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Lightning
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~58 min read

Encyclopedic overview

49 sections
Contents
  • Forms
  • Cloud to ground (CG)
  • {{anchor|Positive lightning}}Positive and negative lightning
  • {{anchor|Cloud to cloud}} Cloud to cloud (CC) and intra-cloud (IC)
  • Formation
  • Atmospheric phenomena in which lightning occurs
  • Charge separation
  • Charge separation in thunderstorms
  • Establishing an electric field
  • Electrical discharge as flashes and strikes
  • Lightning leaders
  • Upward streamers
  • Attachment
  • Discharge – Return stroke
  • Discharge – Re-strike
  • Discharge – Transient currents during flash
  • Distribution, frequency and properties<span class="anchor" id="Distribution and frequency"></span>
  • Megaflashes
  • Extraterrestrial
  • Effects
  • Injury, damage and destruction
  • To nature
  • To man-made structures and their contents
  • To aircraft
  • To living beings
  • Noise (thunder)
  • The distance approximation trick
  • Electromagnetic radiation and interference
  • Radio frequency radiation
  • High-energy radiation
  • Environmental changes
  • Atmospheric chemistry
  • Ground fertilisation
  • Induced permanent magnetism
  • Magnetic hallucinations
  • Detection and monitoring
  • Artificial triggering
  • Impact of climate change and air pollution
  • Lightning and climate change feedbacks
  • In culture
  • Religion and mythology
  • In popular culture
  • Political and military culture
  • See also
  • References
  • Citations
  • Sources
  • Further reading
  • External links

thumb|upright=1.5|Strokes of cloud-to-ground lightning strike the Mediterranean Sea off of Port-la-Nouvelle in southern France.

Lightning is a natural phenomenon consisting of electrostatic discharges occurring through the atmosphere between two electrically charged regions. One or both regions are within the atmosphere, with the second region sometimes occurring on the ground. Following the lightning, the regions become partially or wholly electrically neutralized.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “lightning” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.

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