Lightning




 How Lightning is Formed


Lightning is formed in the atmosphere when warm air and cold air meet to create thunderstorm clouds, the water droplets that are contained in the warm clouds and the small ice crystals which are contained in the cold clouds then begin to rub together forming static through friction (NASA). Similar to a battery, the clouds form into positives and negatives, with negatives at the bottom of the cloud and positive at the top, when enough of this energy from molecules rubbing gets stored in the negative side of the cloud it leaks out forming lightning (NASA). Lightning is not forced to move from the cloud to the ground all of the time and jump either from the cloud to the ground or to a nearer lower energy point in another cloud, assuming that the path of resistance is low enough to take in reaching the other cloud or conductive item that is nearby (NASA).


Lightning can Strike Airplanes


Since lightning is formed high up in the sky where airplanes often fly, it goes without saying that they will often get struck by lightning. Often, planes themselves are the causes of the lightning build up which they get struck by due to the friction created by their wings storing up energy and sporadically releasing that energy level when it builds to a higher level (What, 2022). It is recorded that airplanes are often hit at 5000-15000 feet during the seasons of spring and summer, the location has a part to play with how often they get struck as well due to the main factor in lightning strikes being the accumulation of storms in the area being a main cause (What, 2022).


Damages to Aircraft due to Lightning


Lightning strikes to an aircraft are not as catastrophic as they would seem due to a number of ways that we have learned to mitigate the majority of damage that an aircraft receives due to lightning. The easiest and most typical way that pilots are able to mitigate lightning strike damage is just to avoid getting hit at all by recognizing and staying away from certain cloud types which are known to give the most lightning strikes (What, 2022). Another way that lightning damage is mitigated is by using composite materials that have different components to keep lightning away from conducting into an airplane, and copper meshes are used in specific parts so that the energy of the lightning is dispersed as much as possible without it damaging components of a plane (What, 2022).



References


Collins:MSFC, D. (n.d.). NASA - How Is Lightning Made? [Feature Articles]. Brian Dunbar. Retrieved September 2, 2022, from https://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/k-4/home/F_What_Causes_Lightning_Flash.html

What happens if a Plane Gets Struck by Lightning (April 7, 2022) Retrieved September 2, 2022 from
    What Happens If a Plane Gets Struck by Lightning? (engineerine.com)

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