Abstract
A simple model describing lightning on the basis of the conventional equations of charged-gas hydrodynamics is proposed. In the 1D case, a general self-similar solution to the nonlinear equation is obtained. It is demonstrated that the uniform electric field and charge density distributions in a cloud are unstable. A virtually periodic structure of the field and charge densities is formed owing to their spatial redistribution. The theoretical results are in good agreement with the available data.
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References
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V. E. Fortov, A. G. Khrapak, S. A. Khrapak, et al., Usp. Fiz. Nauk 174, 495 (2004).
Additional information
Original Russian Text © V.I. Pustovoit, 2006, published in Radiotekhnika i Elektronika, 2006, Vol. 51, No. 8, pp. 996–1002.