Yes, clouds do "shoot" lightning, though "shoot" isn't the most scientifically precise term. Lightning can occur within clouds or between clouds and the ground.
Types of Lightning
The reference text highlights two key types of lightning:
- Intra-Cloud Lightning (IC): This type of lightning occurs between areas of opposite electrical charge within the same cloud. It is the most common type of lightning.
- Cloud-to-Ground Lightning (CG): This is the lightning most people think of when they hear the word "lightning." It occurs between a cloud and the ground.
How Clouds "Shoot" Lightning
Lightning is essentially a giant spark of electricity caused by an imbalance of electrical charges. Within a thunderstorm cloud, collisions between ice crystals, hail, and other precipitation particles create these separated areas of positive and negative charge.
- Charge Separation: Updrafts and downdrafts within the cloud carry these charged particles, separating them. Typically, the upper portions of the cloud become positively charged, while the lower portions become negatively charged.
- Electrical Potential: This charge separation creates a large electrical potential difference.
- Discharge: When the electrical potential becomes great enough, the air, which is normally an insulator, can no longer prevent the flow of electricity. A rapid discharge occurs, creating a lightning strike. This discharge can occur within the cloud (IC lightning) or between the cloud and the ground (CG lightning). Therefore, the cloud effectively "shoots" this electrical discharge.
Other Types of Lightning
While the provided reference focuses on IC and CG lightning, it's worth noting other types of lightning also exist, such as:
- Cloud-to-Cloud Lightning (CC): Occurs between two separate clouds.
- Cloud-to-Air Lightning (CA): A discharge that occurs from a cloud into the air.
In summary, clouds do "shoot" lightning, whether it's within the cloud itself or towards the ground. This "shooting" action is the result of the rapid discharge of built-up electrical potential differences.
