Narrow bipolar pulses are high-energy, high-
altitude
Altitude or height (also sometimes known as depth) is a distance measurement, usually in the vertical or "up" direction, between a reference datum and a point or object. The exact definition and reference datum varies according to the context ...
, intra-
cloud
In meteorology, a cloud is an aerosol consisting of a visible mass of miniature liquid droplets, frozen crystals, or other particles suspended in the atmosphere of a planetary body or similar space. Water or various other chemicals may co ...
electrical
Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter that has a property of electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described by ...
discharges associated with
thunderstorm
A thunderstorm, also known as an electrical storm or a lightning storm, is a storm characterized by the presence of lightning and its acoustic effect on the Earth's atmosphere, known as thunder. Relatively weak thunderstorms are someti ...
s. NBP are similar to other forms of
lightning
Lightning is a naturally occurring electrostatic discharge during which two electric charge, electrically charged regions, both in the atmosphere or with one on the land, ground, temporarily neutralize themselves, causing the instantaneous ...
events such as
return strokes and
dart leaders, but produce an optical emission of at least an order of magnitude smaller. They typically occur in the 10–20 km altitude range and can emit a power on the order of a few hundred gigawatts. They produce far-field asymmetric bipolar electric field change signatures (called narrow bipolar events).
References
* M.A. Uman et al., The Electromagnetic Radiation from a Finite Antenna, AJP Vol. 43, 1975.
* A.V. Gurevich, K.P. Zybin, Runaway Breakdown and the Mysteries of Lightning, Physics Today 37-43, 2005.
* K. B. Eack, Electrical characteristics of narrow bipolar events, Geophysical Research Letters, Vol. 31, 2004.
* R. Thottappillil, Distribution of charge along the lightning channel: Relation to remote electric and magnetic fields and to return-stroke models, Journal of Geophysical Research, Vol. 102, 1997.
Electrical phenomena
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