The total charge in the cloud when the breakdown of the surrounding air is reached is 120 C

In a thunderstorm, charge builds up on the water Review | Constants droplets or ice crystals in a cloud. Thus, the charge can be considered to be distributed uniformly throughout the cloud. For the purposes When the breakdown point is reached, what is the magnitude of the electric field at a of this problem, take the cloud to be a sphere of point which is halfway between the cloud's center and its edge? diameter 1.20 km . The point of this problem is to estimate the maximum amount of charge that Express your answer numerically using three significant figures. this cloud can contain, assuming that the charge builds up until the electric field at the surface of View Available Hint(s) the cloud reaches the value at which the surrounding air breaks down. This breakdown means that the air becomes highly ionized, enabling it to conduct the charge from the cloud AEQ to the ground or another nearby cloud. The ionized air will then emit light due to the N/C recombination of the electrons and atoms to form excited molecules that radiate light. In addition, the large current will heat up the air, resulting in its rapid expansion. These two Submit phenomena account for the appearance of lightning and the sound of thunder. Take the breakdown electric field of air to be Eb = 3.0x106 N/C . Provide Feedback Next > P Pearson