A Computational Model of Lightning — Presentation Detail — Celebration of Scholars

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Abstracts must include a title and a description of the research, scholarship, or creative work. The description should be 150-225 words in length and constructed in a format or style appropriate for the presenter’s discipline.

The following points should be addressed within the selected format or style for the abstract:

A clear statement of the problem or question you pursued, or the scholarly goal or creative theme achieved in your work.
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Additional Information

More information is available at carthage.edu/celebration-scholars/. The following are members of the Research, Scholarship, and Creativity Committee who are eager to listen to ideas and answer questions:

Jun Wang
Kim Instenes
John Kirk
Nora Nickels
Andrew Pustina
James Ripley

A Computational Model of Lightning

Name: Justin Barhite
Major: Physics, Mathematics
Hometown: Green Bay, WI
Faculty Sponsor: Brant Carlson
Other Sponsors:
Type of research: SURE
Funding: SURE

Abstract

Computational models are a powerful tool for understanding physical phenomena, such as lightning, that are inaccessible to direct measurement. A computational model was developed to simulate the time evolution of electric charges and currents on a lightning channel. The channel was spatially and temporally discretized, and the electric field integral equation was reduced to a system of linear equations in the present and historical charges and currents in each segment. The currents were linearly interpolated to account for retarded time. The model was formulated in terms of a transition matrix that steps the simulation forward in time. The stability of the model was investigated by examining the eigenvalues of the transition matrix. The effects of various parameters, such as the physical characteristics of the channel, on the model's stability were characterized. A two-stage stepping scheme was implemented and was found to increase the model's stability. Segments were added to the end of the channel, and the resulting spike in the off-channel electric field was compared to data from the Hunstville Alabama Marx Meter Array, which it matched in form though not in magnitude.

Poster file