Red Lightning Unveiled: 15 Shocking Discoveries That Will Electrify Your Mind!

11. Crimson Anvils: Red Lightning in Thunderstorm Anvil Clouds

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Usually found between 10 and 15 kilometres, crimson anvils are a special type of red lightning that arises within the anvil zone of thunderstorms. These events show up as scattered, brilliant red light flashes across the level top of the anvil cloud many kilometres apart. Red anvils sometimes show as a faint, pulsating glow that lasts several minutes, unlike more localised and strong forms of red lightning. Their production is hypothesised to be related to the special charge distribution in thunderstorm anvils, where strong electric fields can accelerate electrons to energies able of exciting nitrogen molecules. Recent studies suggest that red anvils could be very important for the electrical balance of thunderstorms, so distributing charge over the cloud structure. Furthermore fascinating links between crimson anvils and the generation of gamma-ray bursts from thunderstorms—a phenomena known as terrestrial gamma-ray flashes (TGFs—have also been found by scientists. This link has opened fresh directions of inquiry on high-energy atmospheric physics and possible effects of thunderstorms on the near-Earth radiation environment. Reducing anvils are offering insightful analysis of the intricate interaction among cloud microphysics, electrical processes, and high-energy particle physics in the Earth's atmosphere as we keep researching them.