a potential difference between the charge in the clouds and the massive source of electrons known as'the floor' causes the path to be drawn up from ground to cloud and the explosion to go downwards along the path found by the spark.
or something.
(or something.
Mockingbird Practitioner of SCIENCE,
Tue 12 Aug 2008, 9:44,
archived)
A slight misunderstanding of the theoryThe strike travels downwards but as demonstrated in the video can pull charge from the ground to meet it due to the massive forces at work. You can see it in action right up there. The downward action is the lightning strike, upwards surges are known as 'streamers'.
(,
Tue 12 Aug 2008, 9:49,
archived)