VOLCANIC LIGHTNING A PHOTOGRAPHERS DREAM

I would imagine that this would be a photographers wet dream and a night mare to most of us. It is a very rare phenomenon that has happened literally a few hundred times in the last 200 odd years.

I had never heard of it before so like the nerd I read up about it as not that I want to see it ,but at least understand why it happens. You just never know when this type of information will be useful and at least you know it. Maybe a quiz night somewhere.

There are two types of lightning bolts that occur for different reasons. One lower down in the volcanic ash cloud and one higher up in the volcanic smoke in the stratosphere.

Scientists believe the cause of lightning near the ground is individual particles rubbing together building up loads of static electricity causing enough static to create a lightning bolt. The ash particles would start off as a neutral charge but coming into contact with other particles they would become charged. Heat and movement could be the cause for charging these neutral particles in the first place. When something with a neutral charge comes into contact with something that has differing electrostatic qualities electrons can flow.

The secondary lightning higher up scientists believe it is caused the normal way lightning is formed with ice being the cause. When the volcanic smoke rises it will have water vapor and that will freeze at higher altitudes forming ice crystals. These ice crystals crash into each other forming an electric charge which we know as a lightning bolt

Could you imagine the photo's that you could get if you are in the right place at the right time.I think it would be pretty scary though but fascinating at the same time.

.Image source sciencealert.com, youtube.com and phys.org