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Sobral et al. 2002
Sobral, H., Villagrán-Muniz, M., Navarro-González, R. and Camps, E. (2002). Experimental simulation of a double return-stroke lightning flash by lasers. Geophysical Research Letters 29: doi: 10.1029/2002GL015715. issn: 0094-8276.

A lightning flash is composed of various energetic discharges called return-strokes which are believed to be responsible for the natural formation NOX in the atmosphere. We report the first experimental attempt in the simulation of such a process. The temporal evolution of electric breakdown in air at atmospheric pressure of two synchronized Nd:YAG nanosecond laser pulses was studied to understand the physical behavior of a double return-stroke lightning flash by shadowgraphy and interferometry techniques. The temperature of the second return-stroke reaches about 20,000 K after 1 ¿s of laser ignition of the second pulse and cools off more rapidly than the first discharge. The cooling rate of the heated gas is about a factor of two faster for the second simulated return-stroke. The estimated production of nitric oxide of two synchronized laser induced plasmas seems to be not substantially modified as compared with the sum of the isolated single pulses.

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Abstract

Keywords
Meteorology and Atmospheric Dynamics, Lightning, Meteorology and Atmospheric Dynamics, Atmospheric electricity, Atmospheric Composition and Structure, Troposphere--composition and chemistry, Meteorology and Atmospheric Dynamics, Instruments and techniques
Journal
Geophysical Research Letters
http://www.agu.org/journals/gl/
Publisher
American Geophysical Union
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