Question

Lightning transfers charge between a charged cloud and the ground. If the voltage between the two is 1.3x108 V and 3.2 x109 J are transferred, find:A. The total charge moved between the two objectsB. The number of electrons transferred.C. The current, if the lightning strike takes 2.5x10-5 s.

Answer 1

Given data:

* The value of voltage is,

`V=1.3*10^8\text{ volts}`

* The work done in transferring the charge is,

`W=3.2*10^9\text{ J}`

* The time taken by the lightning to reach the ground is,

`t=2.5*10^(-5)\text{ s}`

Solution:

(a). The voltage between the cloud and ground in terms of the charge transferred is,

`V=(W)/(q)`

where q is the charge transferred,

Substituting the known values,

`\begin{gathered} 1.3*10^8=(3.2*10^9)/(q) \\ q=(3.2*10^9)/(1.3*10^8) \\ q=2.46*10^(9-8) \\ q=24.6\text{ C} \end{gathered}`

Thus, the amount of charge transferred between the cloud and ground is 24.6 C.

(b). The number of electrons transferred in terms of the net charge and fundamental charge is,

`\begin{gathered} q=ne \\ n=(q)/(e) \end{gathered}`

where e is the fundamental charge,

Substituting the known values,

`\begin{gathered} n=(24.6)/(1.6*10^(-19)) \\ n=15.38*10^(19) \end{gathered}`

Thus, the number of electrons transferred is,

`15.38*10^(19)`

(c). The current stricks the ground while lightning is,

`I=(q)/(t)`

Substituting the known values,

`\begin{gathered} I=(24.6)/(2.5*10^(-5)) \\ I=9.84*10^5\text{ A} \end{gathered}`

Thus, the current striking the ground is,

`\text{9}.84*10^5\text{ A}`