Thunderstorm Electrification by the Inductive Charging Mechanism:I. Particle Charges and Electric Fields

Abstract

Expressions are derived for ice particle charges acquired through successive collisions in a changing electric field. Our computations give lower particle charges, slower maximum field growth rates, and higher maxium fields than reported in recent literature. The minimum ice particle sizes and concentrations required for efficient electrification appear to lie well within the range observed in thunderstorms. If the mean radius of the large ice particles (graupel, hail, etc.) exceeds 0.2 cm, fields higher than 5000 V cm?1 can be generated.