A lightning bolt is a complete circuit in this way:
Assume in this case it starts from the ground:
To the ground,, the clouds at this point in time appear positive so the
massive potential difference between ground and earth require that the
electrons in the earth jump to the sky, at which point the earth suddenly is
lacking in electrons at that point on the ground but the sky at that point in
the air is over abundant so it returns and equalizes.
An abundance of electrons at a point means that an area is negative,
whereas a lack of electrons means it's positive. Oh and don't get in the way!
:)
Dan
Sherrill WATKINS wrote:
> Fascinating! However, the more I read about electrical theory the less I
> know and the more confused I become. Will someone please explain in common
> english and without math just how the flow of electric current through the
> ground causes a gas pipeline to corrode?? ( Next we will tackle how a
> lightning strike is a complete circuit?) - Thank's- sherrill k4own
>
> >>> Dan <tacquire@earthlink.net> 10/18/00 03:52PM >>>
>
> In reality lightning is a complete loop like any circuit. Don't know if this
> has been mentioned here before or not but there is even positive and negative
> lightning,, so named because of where it initiates, positive earth to
> negative clouds or the other way around. In other words whether or not it
> starts from the clounds goes to earth and comes back, or starts from earth
> goes to clouds and comes back.
>
> Neat stuff anyway :)
>
> Sherrill WATKINS wrote:
>
> > Actually, I believe it was Benjamin Franklin who postulated in about circa
> > 1750 that electricity flows because of an attraction from positive to
> > negative poles. Also, it was Franklin that postulated the theory (correct)
> > that lightning is the flow of electric charges and therefore offered the
> > first scientific explanation that lightning is the flow of electricity.
> > Franklin also postulated correctly that lightning will favor an attraction
> > to a point over a sphere or flat surface and from this he correctly
> > developed the theory of the lightning rod, now called the "air terminal".
> > However, my cathodic protection engineer friend is adamant that current
> > flows from positive to negative. - sherrill k4own
> >
> > >>> "Dan Cox" <tacquire@earthlink.net> 10/18/00 02:43PM >>>
> > hehe, it's really amazing that the myth ever got started. Supposedly it was
> > easier around the turn of the century to explain electricity if you
> > explained it in the reverse of how it actually works.. Imagine these
> > people's confusion when they started learning about vacuum tubes for
> > instance! The logic just DOES NOT work!!
> >
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > From: "Sherrill WATKINS" <SEWATKINS@dgs.state.va.us>
> > To: <tentec@contesting.com>
> > Sent: Wednesday, October 18, 2000 10:47 AM
> > Subject: [TenTec] electron flow vs. current flow
> >
> > >
> > > A friend of mine, who is a cathodic protection engineer, states that in
> > the cathodic (corrosion) protection business, he installs sacrificial
> > anodes on buried gas piplines to protect against corrosion. He also states
> > that current flows from the positive to the negative pole but electrons
> > flow from the negative to the positive pole! - Sherrill k4own
> > >
> > >
> > > --
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> > >
> > >
>
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