Florida Scientists Trigger Lightning to See Thunder

Researchers triggering lightning during thunderstorms in Florida have now managed to image the booming sound.

Acoustic imaging of thunder was done using a series of microphones placed one-meter apart at the International Center for Lightning Research and Testing at Camp Blanding. Last July, researchers fired rockets into a thunderstorm to trigger lightning. As the bolts raced towards earth, the microphones recorded the acoustic energy release, which later helped generate images.

Thunder is produced when electrical charge emitted by clouds heats air rapidly as it travels towards earth. The imaging of the acoustic energy spectrum showed researchers that the loudest bang happens when the bolt strikes the ground.

"That's where the lightning channel is attaching into the ground," informs Mehar Dayeh an atmosphere scientist who presented the findings in Canada this month.

According to Nature, success with current experiments may motivate researchers to measure acoustic energy from natural lightning. The key difference between a triggered and natural lightning event is the bolt. Where triggered bolts travel a straight path to the ground, natural bolts take a zigzag path and can help researchers determine energy flow along the branches.