New discovery reinvents how lightning is formed

New discovery reinvents how lightning is formed

In a small lab at Penn State University, lightning may be happening on a scale smaller than a deck of cards. Victor Pasko, a professor of electrical engineering, and his team have shown that under certain conditions, everyday solid materials like acrylic, quartz, and bismuth germanate can host lightning-like electrical discharges. The discovery challenges long-standing ideas that lightning only forms in massive storm clouds and opens the door to…