A new approach for rain gush formation associated with ionic wind

Abstract

Based upon experimental observation in the laboratory, we propose that ionic wind from corona discharge inside a thundercloud would play an important role in producing a rain gush. A cyclic chain of events inside a super-saturated environment in a thundercloud is proposed, each event enhancing the successive ones until lightning occurs. These successive events are collision between snowflakes and rimers, charge separation, corona discharge, avalanche ionization, ionic wind originating from the positively and negatively charged masses of cloud, vortex motion and turbulence when mixed with the updraft, more collision, more charge separation, stronger corona discharge, and so on. Meanwhile, avalanche ionization would produce more CCN (cloud condensation nuclei) resulting in more precipitation and hence rimers formation in the super-saturated environment. More collision in the buoyant turbulence would lead to more fusion of droplets and the formation of larger rimers. The cyclic processes would repeat themselves until the electric field between the two oppositely charged masses of cloud was strong enough to induce a breakdown. The latter would create a sudden short circuit between the two charged masses of cloud neutralizing the charges. There would be no more ionic wind, hence, much less buoyant turbulence. The updraft alone would not be sufficiently strong to support larger rimers which would fall down 'suddenly' to the earth surface as a rain gush.