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Yuri Dunaev
Kyiv, Ukraine (dunaev.levitski@gmail.com)

Thunderstorms and Lightning
Yuri Dunaev, 2013

Matter has no other properties except those
dependent on its motion and geometry.

Key words:
thunderstorm, lightning, ball lightning, globe lightning, fireball, St. Elmo's fire, corona discharge, electric
current, diffusion.
The Summary
Electric current is diffusion-caused motion of electrons from sites of a conductor with their relatively
high concentration to those with relatively low concentration, by which motion the equalization of
electrons concentration through the whole volume of the conductor is achieved. Corona discharge
occurs on narrow and pointed parts of a conductor because of there-occurred balance disruption
between forces of Fatio that push electrons to atoms (molecules) of the conductor and those of
diffusion in favor of the late. Thunderstorm is an atmosphere-physical phenomenon that composes with
the emergence in cumulonimbus clouds of electric charges in form of lightning and their further
annihilation. Lightning emerges by the way of disengaging airs atomic and molecular electrons during
their ionization with solar radiation, association of freed electrons with water drops by forces of Fatio,
gluing together of the electrified drops accompanied with electrons concentration grows on the surface
of the new-integrated drops, formation between extremely electrified drops of electrons bridges,
evaporation of the bridge-connected water drops, and integration of the electrons of the drops and
bridges into a united corridor that is lightning. Annihilation of lightning inside a cloud occurs while
contacting with a water bubble created from a charged drop by the way of its rupture by the diffusion
forces acting between electrons of its surface layer. Annihilation of lightning inside a cloud occurs by
means of explosion of an above described bubble, explosion that accompanies with flying away of its
water cover to thousand of thousand minute droplets, flying away with these droplets of its electrons,
and emerging a noise that is an enhanced by thousand echoes sound of the explosion. Annihilation of
lightning can occur by discharge of its electric charge by contact with earth of there-placed objects. Ball
lightning is an observable above described bubble. St. Elmo's fire is corona discharge emerging on
narrow sections or pointed prominences of objects electrified resulting from association with them of
free atmospheric electrons under the action of forces of Fatio.
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Nobody has any doubts as to the electrical nature of lightning. If though one tries to explain this
electrical nature from the official science point of view he will inevitably meet with doubts and
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incomprehensibilities. To begin with that the whole contemporary electrical science is one about electric
charges, whereas the Ether Friendly Physics [1] has shown that electric charge as well as mass has no
other nature but that given to it by its geometry. Therefore while reasoning about electricity one has not
to refer to electric charges but to interaction of physical items, which are electrons, protons, atoms,
molecules, and ions of atoms and molecules.
The modern science teaches that like charges repel while opposite charges attract each other. If to
imagine a pseudo gas composed with electrons or another pseudo gas composed with protons, they will
behave analogously to ordinary gases composed with identical atoms or molecules of ordinary matter
(e.g. molecules of oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen, or something else). Atoms or molecules of ordinary gas in
conformity with Laws of diffusion of Fick try to run far away from each other. Quite similarly and as an
illustration to the assumption affirming like charges repulsion, would run away in all directions
accumulations of said electrons and protons pseudo gases.
In my article [2] there was expressed the idea that as a consequence of mutual rotation of subatomic
particles there installs an equilibrium between the interacting forces of attraction (forces of Fatio) and
eccentric forces generated by their mutual rotation. Further there was specified that in the case of
interaction between particles of different sizes (electron proton) such equilibrium installs itself at
comparatively small distances (in the limits of atom's size) that is interpreted as confirmation of the
opposite charges attraction conception, while as concerns pairs of equal size particles (electron
electron or proton proton) such equilibrium does at distances much greater than atom's size that fully
confirms the said diffusion laws and is interpreted as confirmation of the conception of their repulsion.
Atomic nuclei as structures built with protons [3] are much greater by their sizes than electrons and very
suitable for their mutual association embodied in building of such structures as atoms and molecules.
Atomic and molecular electrons are situated at different distances from nuclei, such distances being
greater the electrons' ties with nuclei becoming weaker. The situation arranges in such a way that
certain atoms or molecules would have some electrons only minimally tied with nuclei, and such more
or less free electrons would easily transfer from an atom to another in conformity with the said laws of
diffusion. Such diffusion would nevertheless have a peculiarity consisting in that the electrons while
having the possibility to travel along the body (conductor) made up with their supporting atoms will not
abandon the body, similarly to that real gases equally full up respective hermetic reservoirs and do not
transfuse over their walls.
The described situation is typical for electrically charged conductors (mostly metallic) whose atoms have
in this situation to be qualified as negatively charged ions, while atoms whose external shells are totally
or partly vacant are qualified as positively charged ions. Electrons' movement directed from more
negatively charged ions that is having more relatively free electrons to less negatively charged ions of a
conductor is nothing else that electric current.
In other words: if to imagine a structure composed with closely put together negative ions of metal, it
may be identified as an electric current conductor because each surplus of electrons in one of its areas
would be immediately spread and equally distributed over the whole of its volume. Besides, each
transfer of electrons upon or inside the conductor would in no way influence the integrity of associative
ties between the electrons and conductor as a whole.
A local surplus of electrons may be created artificially using for instance a mechanical generator of
electric current or a galvanic battery. This electric charge surplus would stream over the conductor and
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even flow out to the environment, for instance to atoms or molecules of the surrounding air (corona
discharge) or to earth.
For better understanding further ideas there would not be out of place to explain my (that is from the
positions of the Ether Friendly Physics [1]) understanding of corona discharge.
Modern physics qualifies corona discharge as a process by which from a body with a high electric
potential streams an electric current to a surrounding fluid, usually air by the way of ionization of the
fluid and creation around the body of an electro-conductive zone filled with plasma. Generated ions
transport the electric charge to neighboring zones of low potential or recombine themselves creating
neutral gaseous molecules. If a charged body has a narrow section or a pointed prominence, the electric
field intensity around the narrow section or pointed prominence will be higher than elsewhere. The
cause of such field intensity increase on narrow sections and pointed prominences being by the modern
science unexplained let me denote as the cause of this phenomenon the fact that the forces of Fatio
attracting electrons to other bodies are greater if the thickness of the bodies is larger. Therefore on
account of that according to the laws of diffusion electric charge intensity everywhere along the
conductor has to be the same, the balance between the forces of Fatio and those of diffusion on narrow
sections and pointed prominences would be lost in favor of the forces of diffusion that would eject there
placed electrons to the surrounding space where they would associate themselves with molecules of air.
Continuing the earlier analogy with the real gases behavior in hermetic reservoirs, the narrow sections
and pointed prominences may be compared with local faults of their hermeticity.
Mostly in the darkness corona discharges are perceptible as bluish-violet glows near pointed parts of
power electric lines conductors and insulators. They generate sounds of audible and radio frequencies
similar to hissing or cracking.
Returning to lightning it would be suitable to remember that according to modern beliefs lightning is
electric discharge occurring during thunderstorm. Thunderstorms result from rapid upward movement
of warm, moist air. As the warm, moist air moves upward, it cools, condenses and forms cumulonimbus
clouds that can reach heights of over 20 km. As the rising air reaches its dew point, water droplets and
ice crystals form and begin falling the long distance through the cloud towards the Earth's surface. As
the droplets fall, they collide with other droplets and become larger. The falling droplets create a
downdraft of air that spreads out at the Earth's surface and causes strong winds associated commonly
with thunderstorms.
Most commonly lightning can be seen in the form of bright streak or bolt. Lightning occurs when an
electrical charge is built up within a cloud, due to static electricity generated by super cooled water
droplets colliding with ice crystals near the freezing level. When a large enough charge is built up, a large
discharge will occur and can be seen as lightning.
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Lightning (borrowed from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_arc)
Lightning can be of different types. The most common are in-cloud lightning that generate and die away
inside the same cloud. More rarely happen lightning occurring between a cloud and ground or between
a cloud and there situated objects. Even more rarely happen lightning jumping between two clouds or
between ground and a cloud. Eventually the most exotic and in no way explained are ball lightning.
In spite of the nature of lightning has been intriguing mankind all through millenniums, the concisely
above exposed explanations proposed by science leave a lot of questions. The purpose of the article is
basing on the main principles of the Ether Friendly Physics to find out answers at least to the main of
them.
In my opinion the lightning formation in cumulonimbus cloud occurs as follows. Under the action of
solar radiation air molecules of high levels of the cloud and in lesser scale of its lower levels are ionized
and the resultant positively ionized air molecules losing their external electrons diminish in dimensions
and by their density become weightier than unionized. Gradually that results in that air molecules
positive ions go down while at their places rise new amounts of unionized air molecules which having
arrived to solar light ionize themselves in their turn.
Together with unionized air there rise molecules of water vapor which achieving a proper high condense
themselves forming drops of water.
Free electrons appeared during the ionization, under the action of forces of Fatio associate themselves
(in other words stick) with water drops, which results in their charging, the associated electrons
establishing themselves on the external surface of the drops. Under the action of the Fatio forces the
drops themselves stick to each other and the associated electrons transfer with them to the newly
formed drops. Here one need to pay attention to that as the drops grow respectfully grows electrons
concentration on their external surface. A simple calculation shows that such concentration grows
proportionally to that of the drops dimensions.
Under the action of the above mentioned forces of diffusion the electrons of the drops surface would
seek to run away in all directions, but the forces of Fatio would keep them adhered to the surface. In the
end there can happen that the applied to the electrons diffusion forces would provoke the drops
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rupture and the creation in its center of a cavity filled with gaseous phase. The ruptured in this way drop
would convert itself into a spherical bubble in which the external water covering, with electrons on its
exterior, would enclose a void filled with water vapor. Obviously the described bubble has all the
features of ball lightning, as well as it may be evident that the formation of such kind of bubbles would
not be an extraordinary phenomenon. Nevertheless the fact is that such structures are very unstable
and most of them disintegrate inside the cloud, being incapable to reach places suitable for observation.
In the process of further electrifying by the way of sticking to neighboring electrified drops the created
bubbles expand and during such expansion the diffusion forces that repel the surface electrons would
be continuously balanced by the forces of bubble walls surface tension. Comparatively to ordinary drops
the descent speed of such bubbles substantially decreases and their descent to ground level becomes
scarcely probable.
Nevertheless there exist all reasons to believe that, although extremely rarely the above described
water bubbles could descent to the ground, because throughout centuries there have been registered
appearances of so called ball lightning (globe lightning, or fireballs) in form of luminous balls, which vary
from pea-sized to several meters in diameter. Existence duration of such balls can be as long as some or
some dozens of minutes. It would be reasonable to believe that the balls luminosity is due to corona
discharge and that all through its discharge the bubble louse its capacity to strain and finally cracks. It is
going without saying that explosion of meters-great bubble could provoke a lot of harm and would be
accompanied with a loud noise.
Here I would like to venture that in gaps between neighboring extremely charged drops there might
create themselves some kind of electronic bridges such as well known arcing discharges. The bridges
would serve to equalize charge concentration between the drops similarly to the diffusion-due charge
equalizing in a metallic conductor. The heat created in bridges would evaporate the drops and provide
to the formation of long continuous and luminous electronic corridors with all features of lightning. Such
electronic corridor or lightning may in the end run and discharge into ground or an object there installed
but more often the lightning undertakes to discharge into one of the above described bubbles. Having
reached the bubble covering surface the electric charge of the lightning would provoke its momentary
expansion that would end with its explosion. The explosion provokes the scattering of the lightnings
electric charge to thousand of thousand fragments that is equivalent to its annihilation and emergence
of a many times amplified by echo noise named thunder.
On the other hand, a momentary scattering of the bubbles water may provoke its overcooling and
freezing of thousand of thousand drops that may initiate the creation of hail.
Electrons freed by ionization of airs molecules can associate themselves not only with water drops.
Under the action of forces of Fatio they can do with any objects, even with living creatures; and if such
objects or creatures have narrow sections or pointed prominences, such as in lightning
rods, masts, spires and chimneys, and on aircraft wings the associated with them electrons may there
concentrate themselves. Electrons concentrated on pointed prominences may generate corona
discharges accompanied with glow, hissing, and cracking characteristic for long well known and up to
now unexplained St. Elmo's fires.


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CONCLUSIONS:
1) Electric current is diffusion-caused motion of electrons from sites of a conductor with their
relatively high concentration to those with relatively low concentration, by which motion the
equalization of electrons concentration through the whole volume of the conductor is
achieved;
2) Corona discharge occurs on narrow and pointed parts of a conductor because of there-occurred
balance disruption between forces of Fatio that push electrons to atoms (molecules) of the
conductor and those of diffusion in favor of the late;
3) Thunderstorm is an atmosphere-physical phenomenon that composes with emergence in
cumulonimbus clouds of electric charges in form of lightning and their further annihilation;
4) Lightning emerges by the way of disengaging airs atomic and molecular electrons during their
ionization with solar radiation, association of freed electrons with water drops by forces of
Fatio, gluing together of the electrified drops accompanied with electrons concentration grows
on the surface of the new-integrated drops, formation between extremely electrified drops of
electrons bridges, evaporation of the bridge-connected water drops, and integration of the
electrons of the drops and bridges into a united corridor that is lightning;
5) Annihilation of lightning inside a cloud occurs while contacting with a water bubble created
from a charged drop by the way of its rupture by the diffusion forces acting between electrons
of its surface layer;
6) Annihilation of lightning inside a cloud occurs by means of explosion of a bubble described in 5),
explosion that accompanies with flying away of its water cover to thousand of thousand minute
droplets, flying away with these droplets of its electrons, and emerging a noise that is an
enhanced by thousand echoes sound of the explosion;
7) Annihilation of lightning can occur by discharge of its electric charge by contact with earth of
there-placed objects;
8) Ball lightning is an observable bubble described in 5);
9) St. Elmo's fire is corona discharge emerging on narrow sections or pointed prominences of
objects electrified resulting from association with them of free atmospheric electrons under the
action of forces of Fatio.

Bibliography:
1. Yuri Dunaev, ther friendly physics (EFP) presentation /Essays-Quantum Theory / Particle
Physics/Download/5177
2. Yuri Dunaev, Real Sense of Electric Charge
/Research Papers-Mechanics / Electrodynamics/Download/1704
3. Yuri Dunaev, Atoms Structure/Research Papers-Quantum Theory / Particle
Physics/Download/4962