Months ago I found an experimental site showing estimated V and A for each strike, but I can't find it anymore, any clue?
Due to very false results, the estimation of current has been disabled, because it was no estimation but random guessing. However, we will try to implement a much better method soon.
Measurement of voltage is just not possible.
JumpJack:
Just assume the voltage is high. Very high.
I get a hint at the amperage when watching the realtime map. When every station and some out in the ocean light up and point to a strike, I assume it was a whopper.
Dale
PS, Just being cute, but it is fun to consider the amount of energy in a strike.
I'm still fascinated by the 'crawlers' that seem to emminate from a cloud and crawl all over the bottom of it, without ever touching ground. Very cool stuff.
(2014-06-26, 21:48)Dale.Reid Wrote: [ -> ]JumpJack:
Just assume the voltage is high. Very high.
I get a hint at the amperage when watching the realtime map. When every station and some out in the ocean light up and point to a strike, I assume it was a whopper.
Dale
PS, Just being cute, but it is fun to consider the amount of energy in a strike.
I'm still fascinated by the 'crawlers' that seem to emminate from a cloud and crawl all over the bottom of it, without ever touching ground. Very cool stuff.
Several hundred million volts is typically quoted. But lightning is sometimes described as essentially a constant current source, that will develop nearly any voltage difference necessary to complete a circuit.
What about energy? Can it be estimated based on how much energy reaches the antenna of various detector, being radiowaves just energy?
From University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Department of Physics:
"
The energy of an average 3 mile-long lightning strike is one billion to ten billion joules. To keep a 100-watt light bulb going for one second, one hundred joules of energy will be used. With one billion joules, the light bulb will be lit for 116 days. "
It begs the question, "How easy it is to determine the energy in a 3 mile long flash if "average" is somewhere between 1 billion to 10 billion joules?"
(2014-06-27, 07:53)jumpjack Wrote: [ -> ]What about energy? Can it be estimated based on how much energy reaches the antenna of various detector, being radiowaves just energy?
mmh, theoretically...
If you would know the k-factor (k) of your (electric) antenna and you could measure the voltage at the input of your receiver (v),
you can determine the field strength (E) that the antenna is exposed. *)
E=k*v
From that you could derive the power density E in W/(m^2)
P=E^2/(120*pi)
I guess then it becomes complicated to determine the energy (what's the area? pulse profile? ...).
*) google for: Hewlett Packard AN 150-10. Spectrum Analysis - Field Strength Measurement.
(an older one from 1976 or so)