What exactly is lightning?

While many envision lightning as the dramatic bolts connecting clouds to the ground, in reality 90% of significant electric discharges remain within the clouds. Some extend horizontally for hundreds of kilometres, while others surge upwards toward the ionosphere. These discharges generate large amounts of greenhouse gases and under certain conditions they trigger nuclear reactions and create antimatter. But how does this phenomenon occur? To comprehend the mechanics of lightning, we must delve into processes occurring at speeds far too rapid for human perception. Drawing from laboratory experiments, computer models, and observations from the ground, planes and space, what insights have we gained into the nature of lightning?

The Johann Bernoulli Lecture is an annual event initiated by the Johann Bernoulli Stichting voor de Wiskunde in honour of the mathematician Johann Bernoulli. It features distinguished speakers who present lectures on various topics in mathematics and related fields. This edition is a collaboration between The Johann Bernoulli Stichting, het Koninklijk Genootschap voor de Natuurkunde (KNG) and Studium Generale Groningen.