A lightning bolt transfers -2.5 C of charge from the bottom of a cloud to the to

Question

A lightning bolt transfers -2.5 C of charge from the bottom of a cloud to the top of that cloud. The cloud height from top to bottom is 8000 m (90% or more of all 1ightning is cloud to cloud and inside of clouds). The transfer of charge takes place in 0.03 ms. A) Determine the current carried by the lightning bolt B) Treating the cloud as a parallel plate capacitor, determine the potential difference between the bottom and the top of the cloud, just prior to the strike." Assume the surface area of the top and bottom of the cloud is 1500 km2 and that the dielectric constant of the cloud is that of air (Kair 1).

Explanation / Answer

part A :

Current I = charge/time

I = Q/t

I = 2.5/0.03*10^-3

I = 8.33 *10^4 Amps

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part B:
Capacitance C = K eo A/d

C = 1 * 8.85*10^-12* 1500*10^6 /(8000)

C = 1.659 uF

use Q = CV

Pot Difference V = Q/C

V = 2.5/(1.659*10^-6)

V = 1.506 *10^6 Volts

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