Abstract
Lightning is one of the most common and destructive forces in nature and has long been studied using spectroscopic techniques, first with traditional camera film methods and then digital camera technology, from which several important characteristics have been derived. However, such work has always been limited due to the inherently random and non-repeatable nature of natural lightning events in the field. Recent developments in lightning test facilities now allow the reproducible generation of lightning arcs within controlled laboratory environments, providing a test bed for the development of new sensors and diagnostic techniques to understand lightning mechanisms better. One such technique is a spectroscopic system using digital camera technology capable of identifying the chemical elements with which the lightning arc interacts, with these data then being used to derive further characteristics. In this paper, the spectroscopic system is used to obtain the emission spectrum from a 100 kA peak, 100 µs duration lightning arc generated across a pair of hemispherical tungsten electrodes separated by a small air gap. To maintain a spectral resolution of less than 1 nm, several individual spectra were recorded across discrete wavelength ranges, averaged, stitched, and corrected to produce a final composite spectrum in the 450 nm (blue light) to 890 nm (near infrared light) range. Characteristic peaks within the data were then compared to an established publicly available database to identify the chemical element interactions. This method is readily applicable to a variety of other light emitting events, such as fast electrical discharges, partial discharges, and sparking in electrical equipment, apparatus, and systems.
Highlights
Lightning is one of the most common and destructive forces in nature characterized by a rapid electrical discharge seen as a flash of light and followed by thunder
A typical lightning arc can consist of a voltage of tens of gigavolt and an average current of 30 kA across an arc tens to hundreds of kilometers long all happening within 100 μs
The average of the 450 nm background data is subtracted from each 450 nm generated spectra data, the average of the 550 nm data is subtracted from each 550 nm generated lightning spectra data, and so on
Summary
Lightning is one of the most common and destructive forces in nature characterized by a rapid electrical discharge seen as a flash of light and followed by thunder. With such a laboratory facility, lightning can be reproduced and controlled with a high degree of accuracy and repeatability, providing a test bed for the development of new sensors and diagnostic techniques to understand lightning interactions and mechanisms better[21,22,23] One such technique is a recently developed and installed spectroscopic system[14,21] which, like the spectroscopic systems used in natural lightning studies, operates in the Ultraviolet (UV) to Near-Infrared (NIR) range. In this case, the optical setup gives a spectral resolution of 0.6 nm across an approximately 140 nm subrange within an approximate full range of 800 nm across UV to NIR wavelengths. Such applications include fast electrical discharges, partial discharges, sparking, and other related phenomena in electrical systems and equipment
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