Talk:Lightning/Archive 3

Nitrogen
This article does not have a part about lightning and the nitrogen cycle. Where can I find such information? Or just add some information in the article.

Qwertyxp2000 (talk) 05:25, 10 October 2014 (UTC)


 * Just google "lighting and hydrogen" and you will find stuff like this. Richerman    (talk) 06:02, 10 October 2014 (UTC)


 * Qwertyxp2000 should do his own research. — Preceding unsigned comment added by White909090lightning (talk • contribs) 12:41, 5 April 2015 (UTC)

Not accurate
The article talks about the religion of the Bantu tribes. There are hundreds of Bantu languages and ideas need not be the same for all. — Preceding unsigned comment added by White909090lightning (talk • contribs) 12:53, 5 April 2015 (UTC)

Colors used to denote polarity in undermentioned illustration are not conventional.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/dc/Leaderlightnig.gif/220px-Leaderlightnig.gif

The negative leader from the cloud is presently red, conversely the positive leader from the ground is blue. Automotive transport convention and almost universally RED signifies POSITIVE, and BLACK or BLUE signifies NEGATIVE. The negative color choice seems to be fairly flexible but the red for positive is almost set in stone (in my experience.)

I have not checked yet if there is an article on wire color coding. A short note for anyone who may start one. In 3 phase electricity one convention is to use RED, WHITE, and BLUE for live (above ground) phases and BLACK for the NEUTRAL. Considering the USA standard for 2 phase supply 115VAC - NEUTRAL - 115VAC (where the 2 115VAC lines have 230VAC potential between them) use RED  for 115VAC, WHITE for NEUTRAL, and BLACK for the other 115VAC line, and considering the use RED and BLACK in DC systems, persons working on unknown systems should be aware of these possible pitfalls. Ecstatist (talk) 00:53, 10 September 2015 (UTC)

Bolt from the Blue
Currently the page both describes a 'bolt from the blue' as a name for clear-air lightning [which I believe to be correct], in the main text, and as a name for anvil-to-ground lightning in the anvil-to-ground photo-caption [which does not make sense to me]. I'm not going to make the edit unless there's actually two trends to the usage, but I think it's likely to be a joke or error of some kind. 65.95.145.103 (talk) 15:39, 23 October 2015 (UTC)
 * Actually, it is both. "A bolt from the blue", a metaphor for something coming out of nowhere, originally comes from a lightning strike from a blue sky. However, in the science community, it is also used to describe anvil-to-ground lightning. The reason for this is that anvil-to-ground lightning is a lightning bolt which develops "over" the thunderstorm cloud (in the blue), and travels generally straight down through the cloud and then strikes the ground, creating an anvil through the cloud. "Cloud to Ground" lightning isn't Anvil lightning. That strike comes from the cloud itself, not above it. You may be confusing the two. If you'd like to make an edit, you can word it so that it educates the reader that the term is "also used to describe".... I am not part of the science community, so you better check my facts, however, I remember studying this subject in college, and that's exactly how I remember it.-Pocketthis (talk) 16:43, 23 October 2015 (UTC)
 * No action was taken, so I made an edit to improve, and clarify the anvil strike caption.-thanks-Pocketthis (talk) 19:12, 23 October 2015 (UTC)

Strobe effect of GIFs may cause reactions in epileptics?
The cartoon gif, and maybe other gifs, may cause some photosensative epileptics to be affected. Yosjwuwkjd (talk) —Preceding undated comment added 23:39, 25 July 2016 (UTC)


 * Can the images be rearranged and separated? MOS:ANIMATION prescribes a hard limit on this: "animations must not produce more than three flashes in any one-second period. Content that flashes more than that limit is known to cause seizures. " —C.Fred (talk) 23:44, 25 July 2016 (UTC)


 * I've requested assistance at Wikipedia talk:Manual of Style/Accessibility. —C.Fred (talk) 23:51, 25 July 2016 (UTC)
 * It seems to me that subjectively I can only detect two flashes, effectively in frames 2 and 6 (see File:Lightnings sequence 2.jpg), so it probably doesn't breach Success Criterion 2.3.1. However, if others see more flashes, then there may still be a problem, particularly as the animation loops in 1.5 seconds and the flashes that I see are only 600 ms apart.
 * So, I've uploaded a modified version, File:Lightnings sequence 2 animation-wcag.gif, that has some dark frames inserted to stretch out the animation. I'm pretty sure that meets SC 2.3.1, but other opinions on its usefulness would be welcome. --RexxS (talk) 16:56, 26 July 2016 (UTC)
 * So, I've uploaded a modified version, File:Lightnings sequence 2 animation-wcag.gif, that has some dark frames inserted to stretch out the animation. I'm pretty sure that meets SC 2.3.1, but other opinions on its usefulness would be welcome. --RexxS (talk) 16:56, 26 July 2016 (UTC)

Return Stroke DUBIOUS or even FANCIFUL
The suggestion that lightning travels "up one leg and down the other" is so rare an occurrence that it does not even rate in medical documentation. It requires proximity to a ground stroke and a huge potential between legs (e.g. one on a metal dock, the other in a body of water). By comparison, head-back-legs, head-torso-legs, and arm-torso-legs are more than 90% of injury patterns in human cases. In fact, some have suggested that allowing leg-leg flow through the groin and pelvis is preferable to lying flat on the ground. Journal of Emergency Medicine, multiple issues / Neurorehabilitation Dfoofnik (talk) 14:24, 8 October 2016 (UTC)

Why lightning?
I came here to find out why lightning occurs or in other words why is there a potential difference? Didn´t see an answer to that question. Would be nice if the answer to that common question was in the intro. Daniel.Cardenas (talk) 15:54, 5 November 2016 (UTC)


 * "Lightning is a sudden electrostatic discharge that occurs during an electrical storm. This discharge occurs between electrically charged regions of a cloud (called intra-cloud lightning or IC), between that a cloud and another cloud (CC lightning), or between a cloud and the ground (CG lightning). The charged regions in the atmosphere temporarily equalize themselves through this discharge referred to as a strike if it hits an object on the ground, and a flash, if it occurs within a cloud. Lightning causes light in the form of plasma, and sound in the form of thunder. Lightning may be seen and not heard when it occurs at a distance too great for the sound to carry as far as the light from the strike or flash".

That is the opening now, and I think it answers your question as to what lightning is. As far as "potential difference" is concerned, I found this with some research: "A typical lightning bolt bridges a potential difference (voltage) of several hundred million volts". If you'd like to incorporate that info into the opening, I don't see any reason why not, however, there are other chapters it would work in as well, such as Types or General Considerations. Pocketthis (talk) 17:01, 5 November 2016 (UTC)
 * Doesn't answer the question why there are charged regions or why there is a potential difference.  Thanks, Daniel.Cardenas (talk) 21:15, 5 November 2016 (UTC)
 * Added new section to explain this. Daniel.Cardenas (talk) 02:30, 24 November 2016 (UTC)

The poles are at a temperature where water or molecule are extremely magnetic due to the temperature Tgk11 (talk) 02:42, 23 January 2017 (UTC)

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Lead image
I have reverted some recent changes by Ecstatic Electrical to this article and others. There is some discussion regarding those edits at my talk page, but it's getting too long for just my talk page. Regarding just this article, I have reverted the change in lead image because the current one is a featured image, among the best Wikipedia has to offer, whereas the other was mostly dark (about three quarters could have been cropped without removing any lightning), miscoloured (I doubt the road in the foreground belongs that red), and watermarked, of much poorer quality. This article has plenty of images; no reason was given why that one should be given pride of place. Huon (talk) 01:20, 11 October 2017 (UTC)
 * I’m fine if you don’t use that exact image. However, the current image shows four lightening bolts hitting all at once. It is highly unusual for this to happen. Usually only one or two bolts will strike the same area at the same time. So yes, while the current image is more “impressive”, the image should be based on what’s realistically common, not based on what looks good. — Ecstatic Electrical, 01:22, 11 October 2017 (UTC)
 * Lightning flashes with multiple ground terminations are not uncommon, and up to seven ground terminations have been confirmed to occur from a single flash. While they do not all strike the ground at the same time, photographers can open the camera shutter long enough to capture all of the strokes from a single, or even multiple flashes. There is nothing "unrealistic" about this. --PurpleDiana (talk) 06:35, 25 October 2017 (UTC)

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Speed
Okay, don't get me wrong. this article is usefulll and all but, i want to know the speed of lightning in general. i saw the speed of lightning in the dutch page but the english page has different information and numbers so i was wondering if hey tought the speed was the same.

please explain.

-zoefkris


 * A speed of 100,000 kilometers per second has been mentioned. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.15.21.214 (talk) 10:11, 29 January 2019 (UTC)

Magnetic pinch
I was surprised to find no mention of the pinch effect in this article. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pinch_(plasma_physics) Probably belongs somewhere in the "transient currents" section? Is it even relevant? 203.13.3.90 (talk) 01:28, 4 March 2019 (UTC)

Crown flash
Considering the direct relationship between lightning storms and the crown flash phenomenon it would be logical to touch on this in this article but the only question is how to integrate this information? 86.212.240.167 (talk) 10:39, 28 August 2018 (UTC)
 * Maybe a mention of the relationship in the observational variations section? Sario528 (talk) 11:10, 29 August 2018 (UTC)
 * As crown flash is not lightning, it doesn't belong in observational variants. I'll stick it in "see also", at least. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 184.69.174.194 (talk) 07:02, 4 March 2019 (UTC)

Article Needs Organization
I'm not surprised this didn't make "good article". It needs a thorough reworking as too much information is repeated due to lack of initial organization. The info is here, but it feels like a cut and paste job by a first year student. 184.69.174.194 (talk) 07:05, 4 March 2019 (UTC)
 * WP:BOLD. --Wtshymanski (talk) 02:55, 5 March 2019 (UTC)

New section - protection
What about a new section on lightning protection systems ? CecilWard (talk) 11:01, 21 January 2020 (UTC)


 * That ... hard to believe that's not an ARTICLE already. Lightning rod does exist with a lot of coverage ... will a REDIRECT suffice? I'll link to LR in SEE ALSO (?!) Also worth coverage: records set by lightning flashes ... many have been created in recent years. EG Huge Lightning 'Megaflash' in Brazil Breaks Record for Longest Strike, Extraordinary ‘megaflash’ lightning strikes cover several hundred kilometres, smashing records (certified by the UN's WMO). Twang (talk) 21:00, 26 June 2020 (UTC)

Electrification - why?
The Electrification section, paragraph 2 and Figure 2, says that "When the rising ice crystals collide with graupel, the ice crystals become positively charged and the graupel becomes negatively charged; see Figure 2" but doesn't say anything about why that should be the case. I'm not knowledgeable enough to give a good explanation myself (otherwise I would just do it), but I feel like it's really needed. That seems the the crux of the whole "how do physically-separate areas of the cloud end up with dramatically different charges" thing? Is there any chance that someone who knows more than I would like to take this on?

KLuwak (talk) 19:00, 29 September 2020 (UTC)

Suspicious and Weird Ommission
There is no discussion of Ground to Cloud, the true form of lightning. The article says itself "cloud to ground" is rare, and frankly isn't really true. The ground is ALWAYS 100% NECESSARY, to strike ground. The charge goes Upward, not downward. This is a scientific fact. The weird part of this is it's totally ommitted, and only cloud to ground is written here with no title or first place position of ground to cloud. My explanation for this is creationist Christians are responsible. They like to believe lightning strikes downward and it's a popular low IQ myth. It doesn't. There is no other probable or clear motive to ignore the most scientific explanation in this article. I want to shame wikipedia staff for dropping their scientific standard and letting this stealthy revision take place. You've been warned now, guys, about this.Marriotte (talk) 15:20, 6 July 2021 (UTC)


 * If you see room for improvement, go ahead and make the improvement. 'wikipedia staff' is just people like you or me. 2601:281:8280:21F0:7D95:D130:B38E:B4E5 (talk) 05:03, 9 August 2021 (UTC)

"Alharrkentye" listed at Redirects for discussion
A discussion is taking place to address the redirect Alharrkentye. The discussion will occur at Redirects for discussion/Log/2021 November 26 until a consensus is reached, and readers of this page are welcome to contribute to the discussion. Certes (talk) 17:06, 26 November 2021 (UTC)

Number of pictures
Someone put the template saying that there are too many pictures. I disagree. I think there's just the right amount of pictures. BirdValiant (talk) 02:08, 10 October 2021 (UTC)

I tend to agree. And if the article has too much going on, we don't need the clutter of a big banner tag too so I'm removing it. Andrew🐉(talk) 09:21, 2 February 2022 (UTC)

"Stepped leader(meteorology)" listed at Redirects for discussion
An editor has identified a potential problem with the redirect Stepped leader(meteorology) and has thus listed it for discussion. This discussion will occur at Redirects for discussion/Log/2022 April 6 until a consensus is reached, and readers of this page are welcome to contribute to the discussion. Steel1943 (talk) 19:11, 6 April 2022 (UTC)

Early theories of lightning
It would be interesting to know what scientists/philosophers believed was the cause of lightning before the discovery of electricity حمزة الوحش (talk) 09:23, 20 June 2022 (UTC)
 * There is a little information in the section "In culture and religion", which itself links to the article "Lightning in religion". Feline Hymnic (talk) 09:42, 20 June 2022 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 19 September 2022
In the "Cloud to ground (CG)" subcategory within the "Types" section, the last sentence repeats the word 'ground' but appears to employ two different definitions of the term - first indicating electrical ground, then the common English usage referring to the surface of the Earth.

The conductivity of the ground, be it ground, fresh water or salt water, may affect the lightning discharge rate and thus visible characteristics.[64]

This is both conceptually ambiguous for a lay reader, and makes for a somewhat awkward sentence structure to parse. I would suggest replacing the second occurrence with 'earth' (or 'soil'), changing the first to read 'electrical ground', or both:

The conductivity of the electrical ground, be it soil, fresh water, or salt water, may affect the lightning discharge rate and thus visible characteristics. Jeffrey Shafer (talk) 23:31, 19 September 2022 (UTC)
 * ✅ - FlightTime  ( open channel ) 23:39, 19 September 2022 (UTC)

The very point: piezoelectricity in atmosphere!
Understanding the physics around thunderclouds and lightnings has been very poor since ancient times and your article of course suffer from that fact, but considering https://www.quora.com/Lightning-and-thunder-are-caused-by-electric-discharges-due-to-charge-differences-from-the-ground-and-the-clouds-But-why-is-there-a-charge-build-up could certainly improve your article on several and central points and understanding the role of piezoelectricity can, as shown in https://www.quora.com/How-do-raindrops-form, also explain rain! /Regards John Larsson (jodalela@gmail.com) 87.51.162.168 (talk) 16:44, 27 November 2022 (UTC)

21 March 2023
Mandalore has a right to do protected itself. For example, I have a dream of Mandalore, because it had a great life and of that I am the Queen of Mandalore. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.198.226.173 (talk) 01:53, 22 March 2023 (UTC)

'Place on Earth with most lightning'
Would also be useful to state that region on Earth with highest lightning strike frequency is clearly Congo Basin (colorscale on the global map runs out!) Nzadi (talk) 10:25, 12 May 2023 (UTC)