ABSTRACT
The process of sustained ionization in the atmosphere preceding the occurrence of lightning breakdown involves the release of ion clusters of positive and negative polarities and the unleashing of an ionization avalanche at the moment of breakdown. The voltage of potential energy among multiple layers of charged clouds is at a multimegavolt level, and the released ionic avalanche carries a multikiloampere electric current. Surface charge distribution, which accumulates at the top and bottom of clouds also maintains huge loads of electric charge on the order of kilo- or even megacoulombs. It is obvious that a vast amount of energy is involved before, during and after lightning in the atmosphere. The question is whether it is feasible or even possible to bring down such tremendous amounts of energy for useful applicability on Earth. The generation of ions is characterized as time varying, amounting to a flow of local electric current before breakdown and to the release of lightning strokes upon breakdown. Before breakdown, the potential difference between clouds and builds up, depending upon atmospheric storm conditions, and hence energy density distribution in the ionizing atmosphere is the electrostatic or the potential density that can be expressed by ρV/2 J/m 3 , where p is the volume charge density in coulombs/m 3 and V is the potential at any point. The other form of energy is the magnetic or kinetic energy expressed by JA/2 J/m 3 , where 3 is the inducing current density in amperes/m 2 and A is the magnetic vector potential at any point. Therefore,
