Thunderstorms

Thunderstorms Hurricanes Tornadoes Global Cooling Cycle

On The Sulfur Cycle page, it was discussed how sulfur oxides form clouds. In this section it will be shown how clouds become thunderstorms and produce lightning.

For a cloud to grow into a thunderstorm, three factors are involved - heat, moisture and sulfur oxides. Heat input is not an absolute requirement because the exothermic reaction of sulfur trioxide (SO3) and water (H20) in the atmosphere will produce its own natural heat that drives the storm. This is why it is possible to have thunder-snow or thunder and lightning in the winter in some areas of the country. Sulfur oxide levels and moisture levels, however, are what determine if a cloud becomes a thunderstorm or not. The higher these levels are, the more intense the storm will be.

Supercell storms are large, severe quasi-steady-state storms which feature wind speed and direction that vary with height ("wind shear"), separate downdrafts and updrafts (i.e., precipitation is not falling through the updraft) and a strong, rotating updraft (a "mesocyclone"). These storms normally have such powerful updrafts that the top of the cloud (or anvil) can break through the troposphere and reach into the lower levels of the stratosphere and can be 15 miles (24 km) wide. These storms can produce destructive tornadoes, sometimes F3 or higher, extremely large hailstones (4 inch or 10 cm diameter), straight-line winds in excess of 80 mph (130 km/h), and flash floods. In fact, most tornadoes occur from this type of thunderstorm

Sulfur dioxide (SO2) combines in the lower atmosphere to form sulfur trioxide (SO3), a very reactive chemical compound. This process involves a long chain of reactions that ultimately form sulfuric acid (H2SO4). The reactions below describe only one of many possibilities that may take place at the same time in the atmosphere.
SO2+O-2--> SO3-2 + heat --> SO3 +2-e
SO3 + H2O - -->H2SO4 + heat
(the free electrons (2-e) in a large enough concentration, very often create inter-cloud lightning; or in a smaller concentration this may materialize as static electricity or Saint Elmo's Fire)
Sulfur trioxide (SO3), because of its chemical nature, attracts water in the atmosphere. SO3 is highly hygroscopic and if it is in contact with moisture it will exothermically react to create sulfuric acid (H2SO4) + heat.
The above sulfur trioxide and water create highly energized sulfuric acid in a mist form and this process generates heat which, in turn, causes the sulfuric acid to rise in the atmosphere. This is the same heat that drives thermals, updrafts and low pressure and is why thermal columns form under clouds almost exclusively. This is contradictory to traditional scientific theory that suggests these results are from the uneven heating of the ground.
It has been shown scientifically, that as sulfuric acid cools towards -40 degrees Celsius in the presence of an electric or magnetic field it will spontaneously ionize into the negative ion sulfate and two hydrogen ions 2 H+ or two protons. In a storm, it is the earth's own magnetic field and the rapid cooling of the atmosphere that causes this to occur exponentially as the temperature decreases. The self deprotonation of H2SO4 is 10 billion times faster then that of water making it highly conductive and easily ionized.
As this created sulfate cools, it becomes a CCN or Cloud Condensing Nuclei. As supercooled water encounters and attaches to it, it will form an ice particle, snowflake or hail stone. This is when we first begin to see evidence of it as a cloud. Until now, it was invisible to the naked eye and is why you can not detect a thermal column below a cloud visually.
The ice around the sulfate forms an electrically insulating barrier to the negative sulfate inside it. This isolates the electrical charge in the thunderstorm and explains why science can not detect a large charge difference in a thunderstorm.
As the ice particles circulate inside the storm, they build up more and more ice. As ice particles collide with each other, they form larger masses called hail. It is clearly evident that hail is a conglomeration of smaller ice particles packed together as is shown in the picture below. This process is the reason we see some very odd forms of lightning, like ball lightning that will be explained in detail in the section on lightning. For now just think of hail as a negatively-charged, sulfur-filled, highly conductive, ice ball.
The H+ discussed earlier is the lightest atom known to science and it circulates in the upper section of the storm as it attempts to escape the storm cloud. The hydrogen (H+) is trapped by two factors. First, electrostatic forces pull it towards the center of the storm. This force is created by the negative ions in the lower section of the storm. Secondly, air currents circulate the H+ inside the storm, not allowing it to leave.
When the ice particles or hail get large enough and heavy enough, they will begin to fall to the lower sections of the storm. As they do so, they warm and melt from the heat generated by inter-cloud lightning and the temperature of the atmosphere.
The intense heat of the inter-cloud lightning (6000+ degrees Celsius) converts the hail into water and the sulfate (SO4-2) particle into sulfur trioxide (SO3) once again, and creates the oxygen ion (O-2).
As the 2H+ and the O-2 buildup in the storm, there is charge separation and the potential for more lightning. The ice or hail acts to carry the charged particles to the lower sections of the cloud where the O-2 rapidly releases its charge back to the H+. This process occurs so rapidly that it is very difficult to measure in real time.
Once enough of a potential difference in electrical charge exists, the electrons from the O-2 will move towards the H+ through the highly conductive water and ice particles in the cloud. This is what causes the step ledders in a lightning bolt to occur as the electrons attempt to find the shortest path to the positive ions. Once a lightning channel forms all the electrons move until they are all used up within a given region of the storm. As more and more ions are created with each lightning discharge or flash, the same channel can be used to carry multiple strikes.
Press the ESC key to stop this animation and F5 to restart it.
As this process occurs the remaining O bonds with other O atoms to become O2, the oxygen we breath, or O3 ozone. The H+ joins with H+ to become highly energized H2 which escapes from the cloud top into the upper atmosphere. It is no longer held in place by electrostatic forces because it has lost its positive charge. Wind current will still attempt to confine this highly energized hydrogen within the storm, however, it is eventually lost. The release of the hydrogen from the top of the thunderstorm is what creates a blue jet or sprite.
The process continues as long as there is enough water and sulfate in the thunderstorm system. If the system is not fed with more and more water and sulfur it will dissipate. If sulfur and moisture levels increase, so will the storm. This is a very important point to remember when we examine the hurricane and tornado processes.
If the lower section of the storm becomes highly negatively charged, the earth, itself, becomes relatively positive in comparison and positive ions will be drawn towards the earth in a positive streamer . Once there is enough potential difference, a lightning channel will form and electrons will flow.

(See arrow in the left side of this photo, representing a positive streamer)

This process tends to unbalance the electrostatic forces in the storm and enough H+ is then released from the top of the storm to re-balance the storm. The hydrogen release from the top of the storm is known today as a Blue Jet or Sprite.
The electrons that strike the ground as lightning will negatively charge the ground and as the storm moves over head and past the charged area, it can attract a positive streamer from the H+ at the top of the storm, allowing the electrons to flow upwards in a positive lightning strike. The strikes are ten times more powerful then negative down strokes because of the total potential that exists. This positive lightning can be thought of as completing the lightning circuit. This process produces larger burst blue jets and sprites as a result and it is possible that these are the ones that have been detected by science in pictures from the space shuttle.

Diaxiom Technologies

The liberation of energy inspired by nature.

2 SO2 + O2 + Heat = 2 SO3

SO3 + H2O = H2SO4 + Heat

H2SO4 + Cooling + Electromagnetic Promoters = 2H+ and SO4-2

SO4-2 + heat = SO3 + O-2

(once enough ionized gas builds up electrons will move)

X amount of O-2 + X amount 2H+ = X amount of (2-e) electrons