Abstract
AN official communication (Ref. S/T 18a) from the British Electrical and Allied Industries Research Association upon this subject has been published by C. E. R. Bruce and R. H. Golde (J. Inst. Elec. Eng., Pt. II, Dec, 1941). The contribution is an important one, and it presents several new theses. It is considered that the potential required to cause a lightning discharge is only a small percentage of that hitherto believed necessary, namely, of the order of 5 x 107 volts as compared with Wilson's 1 x 109 to 6 x 109 volts. The energy involved in a flash is of the order of 250 kwh., while the average charge is of the order of 50 coulombs, or 50 per cent greater than had been previously accepted. About one third of this charge is probably neutralized in the intervening space charge.
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THE LIGHTNING DISCHARGE. Nature 149, 224–225 (1942). https://doi.org/10.1038/149224b0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/149224b0