Antiparticles and nuclear reactions are generated by thunderclouds

Japanese scientists from the Science and Engineering Center of the Japan Atomic Energy Agency have calculated that since lightning and thunderclouds are natural particle accelerators, they can generate antiparticles and nuclear reactions can occur within them.

The scientists reached this conclusion based on data showing that three gamma-ray bursts, lasting from fractions of a millisecond to a minute, were recorded during a thunderstorm on February 6, 2017, on the northwest coast of Honshu, at a distance of 0.5-1.7 kilometers from the lightning strike.

Abbys/film, 2003

During this flash, neutrons, antiparticles (positrons), and other particles were formed. Scientists had previously hypothesized that such particles could be created during thunderstorms, but now, for the first time, they have demonstrated that they could be caused by nuclear reactions (the total energy released in a lightning discharge, about 200 megajoules, is equivalent to approximately 50 kg of TNT). The radioactive isotopes produced in this process pose no threat to human health, as their concentrations are extremely low even compared to other natural sources of radiation.

According to the researchers, the results obtained during the study could demonstrate that thunderstorms may involve much more diverse processes than previously thought. The question that remains to be answered is whether such reactions occur in all thunderstorms or only in the most powerful ones. Scientists have much to ponder.