Lightning has high power - not high energy. Please refer
back to high school physics to appreciate the concepts.
Second, well over 95% of all lightning strikes to trees don't
even leave an appreciable mark (from the US Forestry Service
study). The energy content of lightning is typically that
small. Third, people see damage, then assume all lightning
has that energy, AND assume all the energy is from lightning.
That's a lot of assumptions not consistent with what experts
have learned.
For example, to put this energy into numerical perspective,
from:
http://www.weatherwise.org/qr/qry.lightningpower.html
A kilowatt hour is 3.6 million joules. ... we should consider
only the electrical energy available at the bottom of the stroke
for capture and storage. For an average stroke that is probably
less than ten million joules.
Don Kelly in newsgroup sci.physics.electromag on 4 Nov 2000
entitled "Oddball question":
In a large storm, there is an appreciable amount of energy but
most of this is dissipated as heat and light in multiple
strokes over the duration of the storm (and a wide area) ...
A typical stroke will reach its peak in about 1-2 microseconds
and die to about half peak in 50-100 microseconds. Millionths
of seconds, not seconds! There may be several strokes in the
same path but even 3-5 strokes will take less than 1/1000
second. The strokes just appear to last seconds.
Yes there is a high peak power in a stroke but this does not
translate into appreciable energy (about 55 KWH (200MJ)for an
average stroke). Energy is what we need, not high peak power.
Allowing an extremely (ridiculously so) optimistic 50% energy
recovery and noting that a high isokeraunic level may be 8-10
strokes/square Km /year- this translates to about 220-275
KWH/ sq Km/year.
A 25 watt bulb running for the full year will require
220KWH/year so a storm could supply one 25 watt bulb
/sq Km/year.
Furthermore, the energy dissipation at the strike location
is made trivial by how well that stuck item is connected to
earth. Therefore direct lightning strikes even stopped harming
church steeples starting in 1752. Well earthed lightning rods
often have no strike indication other than a loud noise after
that strike. But when so many only see a direct strike to a
poorly earthed item, (meaning energy dissipation is higher),
then they assume the direct lightning strike must have high
energy.
To better appreciate the concept, one must first learn
concepts such as ideal current source. Meanwhile, plasma
fields don't collapse. That is confusing electric and
magnetic fields with particles (matter) called plasma.
Without numbers, one has no idea. It is an old propaganda
technique practiced by Goebals, Radio Moscow, and Rush
Limbaugh. Forget to provide numbers so that no one will ask
embarrassing questions. Provided are numbers from those who
do the work. What really was the source of energy through
that pipe? Lightning - or a 'follow-through current' that was
defined in the previous post?
Keep in perspective. That means numbers. How much current
can flow through that AC electric wire inside the dwelling
walls without vaporizing? Up to 300 amps continuous. AND
hundreds of thousands of amps for a short duration. But
again, the numbers.
First define what you consider high energy - the numbers.
Experts who have studied lightning for their entire
professional life don't find these high energy numbers that
myths use to hype fear and loathing. More sources with
knowledge and the numbers are cited.
Cited is the example of an exploding power transformer - not
destroyed by lightning but instead destroyed by AC utility
power - an example of 'follow-through current' that has high
energy.