Феноменология электрических разрядов, возникающих между отрицательно заряженным облаком водного аэрозоля и землёй

Abstract

Studies of electrical discharges generated in the electric field of charged aerosol clouds make it possible to obtain better understanding of how lightning occurs in thunderclouds. For this purpose, an experimental setup was developed, which allows charged aerosol clouds of negative polarity to be produced. A charged aerosol cloud creates electric field strength sufficient to generate electrical discharges between this cloud and the earth. The experimental setup for obtaining an artificially produced charged aerosol cloud is briefly described. The experimental setup is equipped with a set of measuring instruments for recording the electrical and optical signals of discharges and for photographing the discharges themselves. A database has been accumulated in the course of experiments, which includes the waveforms of discharge current pulses recorded using digital oscilloscopes, the waveforms of signals from optical sensors recording the development of discharges in space and time, and the snapshots of discharges. By using the accumulated information it is possible to classify discharges that occur between artificially produced charged aerosol clouds of negative polarity and the earth by type and parameters. An analysis of the experimental data has shown that both upward and downward discharges can occur between a charged aerosol cloud and the earth, which is typical for natural lightning phenomena. The snapshots of the most characteristic types of electric discharges observed in experiments and simple models explaining the development of these discharges are studied.