Theory 22/Atmospheric Electricity

Lightning Needs a Field Ratio

The claim

Lightning initiation is set by the ratio of ambient field to hydrometeor size rather than by field strength, so weak fields with large particles can discharge.

01The mechanism

Field enhancement near a particle scales with its size; initiation requires local enhancement to exceed breakdown, which is a product of the two.

02Predictions

P1Initiation should track the ratio.
P2Strong fields with small particles should not initiate.

03Refutation

Initiation tracking field strength would remove the size term.