BOLTS OF LIGHTING SHOOTING OUT OF THE EIFFEL TOWER -MAY 25THDid the Tower really make its own lightning? The surprising answer is "yes."
"The upward branching in this photo shows that the Eiffel Tower actually initiated the discharge. "In other words, instead of starting in the cloud and coming to ground, this flash started when the tower 'launched' a leader that propagated upward toward the cloud (which still served as the source of the electric field needed to get the process going). As the leader ascended, it branched out. Eventually one of the branches reached a region of sufficient charge to 'short out the cloud' and produce the return stroke"
According to studies The Lightning Discharge, upward-initiated are "relatively rare," accounting for less than 1% of all lightning, "and generally occur from mountain tops and tall man-made structures."
A bientot!
