Supervisor: Jon Merrison

The phenomenon of lightning has always fascinated humans. Historically attributed to the rage of thundergods, lightning has now been studied as a physical phenomenon for almost 300 years. In this colloquium, you can expect to hear about some of the physical mechanisms that lead to intense electrification of clouds, and about how electrical discharges are formed in gases. This supports a detailed description of the most common type of lightning that strikes ground as well as exotic electrical phenomena known as blue jets and red sprites. Along the way, you will learn of fascinating environmental effects, and how lightning plays a key role in them, described by a model known as the global electric circuit. The study of lightning is a rich field with many still unanswered questions, and this colloquium serves as a brief introduction to it.