A Hypothetical Cloud-Seeding Method for Facilitating the Occurrence of Lightning

Abstract

Drawing on available literature, arguments are presented to support the thesis that lightning initiation requires that positive corona streamers be produced in a region where the electric field E exceeds a certain critical value E0. Under normal circumstances electrically stressed precipitation particles provide this necessary corona. A method of cloud seeding is proposed in which suitable corona-giving bodies are artificially introduced into the cloud so as to facilitate the triggering of lightning. The required properties of the seeding material are discussed, and possible applications of the technique are suggested.