- last post: 01.01.0001 12:00 AM PDT
Posted by: GaIap
the reason lightning doe3s not strike the same place twice in one storm is that the electric difference is equalized by the lightning. its the charges not being in balance that causes the lightning. the artifact would have very high energy levels, rebuilding the difference quickly. and also, technically, the bolts in the trailer go in the wrong direction (sky to ground) lightning actually starts at the ground and rockets into the sky, but its just a trailer, so it really doesn't matter.
*slaps head*
Oh dear god...
In an electrical storm, the storm clouds are charged like giant capacitors in the sky. The upper portion of the cloud is positive and the lower portion is negative
You know that electrons repel? Well, the negative lower part of the cloud causes the Earth's surface to become positivly charged by repelling the electrons on the ground, beneath the storm cloud.
The air then breaks down (ionizing the air around the cloud, which creates a path for the lightning to follow), allowing the 2 charges to neutralize, resulting in what we see as a lightning bolt.
As for the direction of the strike, lightning can travel from wherever the hell it pleases, to wherever the hell it pleases.
It can travel from Earth to cloud, cloud to Earth, or even cloud to cloud.