Fractal dimension of lightning discharge

J. Sañudo (1) , J. B. Gómez (2) , F. Castaño (2) , A. F. Pacheco (3)

1 Departamento de Fisica
2 Department of Geological Sciences
3 Departamento de Fisica Teórica

Using a stochastic model, we simulate the process of dielectric breakdown in the atmosphere and calculate the fractal dimension of 3-dimensional lightning patterns. Finite-size effects have been studied. The projections of our patterns on vertical planes fit the experimental fractal dimension obtained from photographic analysis. This work is inspired by a previous work by A.A. Tsonis.

Domaines: Cosmologie et astrophysique extra-galactique [astro-ph.CO]; Astrophysique [astro-ph]; Sciences de la Terre

J. Sañudo, J. B. Gómez, F. Castaño, A. F. Pacheco. Fractal dimension of lightning discharge. Nonlinear Processes in Geophysics, 1995, 2 (2), pp.101-106. ⟨hal-00301769⟩