Super slo-mo lightning bolt video

[Rappa]

This is probably one of the absolutely most amazing things I've ever watched before. The video's in the link:

http://gizmodo.com/5034458/slow-mot...ndblowing-will-sell-a-thousand-slo+mo-cameras

I really really really want me one of these cameras...

 

[JP]

That was awesome lol

 

[Orinna]

That was amazing. Wow.

 

[iaredrew]

Holy crap.

I like how you can actually see it search it's way towards a grounding point and then when it finds it, the bolt is almost supercharged. I'm no science major, so I'm not sure as to what the physics of a lightning bolt are, but that's eerily amazing nonetheless!

 

[Neche]

That camera is amazing, you can actually see the charge flow from the ground to the sky once it connects.

 

[Valandil]

Holy crap.

I like how you can actually see it search it's way towards a grounding point and then when it finds it, the bolt is almost supercharged. I'm no science major, so I'm not sure as to what the physics of a lightning bolt are, but that's eerily amazing nonetheless!

No one is 100% sure about the physics of lightning but what you see in the video are called leaders, which slowly (relatively speaking) "jump" their way to the ground, seeking the path of least resistance. Once a connection is made, the channel opens up and you see the actual lightning bolt. If the current is strong enough you'll get the spider-web effect where the discharge travels through the other leaders as well.

 

[Uzor]

To add to the last post, the air ionizes, which, as Valandil said, follows the path of least resistance. It finds its way down towards the ground in jumps (the first part of the video you see), until one of them finally reaches the ground. The shortest distance between the jumps, following the jumps path, is what shapes the lightning, hence why lightning is almost never completely straight, and can be "divided". As each jump happens with an about 20-50 milliseconds pause between each jump, that gives you a clue how fast the camera is.

 

[Bajaratt]

That's awesome.

 

[Lanien]

Holy shit, that is cool. Never seen something like that, amazing camera.

 

[RaidrX]

Linked from that page. Not as cool as the lightning but still sweet:

http://gizmodo.com/386936/mentos-and-diet-coke-explosion-at-1200fps-casio-ex+f1-strikes-again