The Atmospheric Electricity Paradigm
- 1 January 1994
- journal article
- Published by American Meteorological Society in Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society
- Vol. 75 (1) , 53-61
- https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0477(1994)075<0053:taep>2.0.co;2
Abstract
Remarkable aspects of the thundercloud are its intense electrification, precipitation, and convection. A satisfactory understanding of how a thunderstorm works will require a continuing series of investigations to explore the complicated interrelationships among these phenomena. Until now the major effort has been devoted to studies of how precipitation causes electrification. For a century, investigations of thunderstorms have been dominated by the idea that lightning is produced by a charge-separation process within the cloud caused by failing precipitation. The origin of this idea, its implications, present status, and probable future are examined in the light of T.S. Kuhn's views on the nature of scientific progress. Despite some achievements, the results of research based on the precipitation theory have proved disappointing. For example, they have shed little light on important problems such as the factors that determine the polarity of the cloud electric dipole and the role that electricit... Abstract Remarkable aspects of the thundercloud are its intense electrification, precipitation, and convection. A satisfactory understanding of how a thunderstorm works will require a continuing series of investigations to explore the complicated interrelationships among these phenomena. Until now the major effort has been devoted to studies of how precipitation causes electrification. For a century, investigations of thunderstorms have been dominated by the idea that lightning is produced by a charge-separation process within the cloud caused by failing precipitation. The origin of this idea, its implications, present status, and probable future are examined in the light of T.S. Kuhn's views on the nature of scientific progress. Despite some achievements, the results of research based on the precipitation theory have proved disappointing. For example, they have shed little light on important problems such as the factors that determine the polarity of the cloud electric dipole and the role that electricit...Keywords
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