MayBe Art is an ELECTRIC RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ITS CREATOR AND EARTH
Lightning is the occurrence of a natural electrical discharge of very short duration and high voltage between a cloud and the ground. Some types of lightning, including the most common types, never leave the clouds but travel between differently charged areas within or between clouds. It begins with the water cycle of condensation and evaporation. Lightning is extremely hot and dangerous. A flash can heat the air around it to temperatures five times hotter than the sun’s surface. This heat causes surrounding air to rapidly expand and vibrate, which creates the pealing thunder we hear a short time after seeing a lightning flash.
Steven A. Cummer
Electrical and Computer Engineering Department
Duke University
cummer@ee.duke.edu
This image is a sequence of high speed snapshots taken by Dr. Cummer of gigantic sparks in the upper atmosphere, extending from about 25 to 50 miles high, that are created by a very powerful lightning stroke between the cloud and ground.
Robert Schatz
Odalisque 2006
acrylic on paper
23″ x 32″
http://www.robertschatz.com/