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Question...I was always told that lightning seeks the highest point on the ground. If that’s the case, this path doesn’t seem to be very efficient in getting th

Question...I was always told that lightning seeks the highest point on the ground. If that’s the case, this path doesn’t seem to be very efficient in getting there. How does lightning actually choose it’s path? Enlighten me. Sorry. Couldn’t resist.

z2 9y ago
The explanation I've seen is that multiple leads actually do a random walk search algorithm of sorts until one connects. https://earthscience.stackexchange.com/questions/580/why-does-lightning-strike-from-the-ground-up https://earthscience.stackexchange.com/questions/580/why-doe...
theresistor 9y ago
It takes the path of least (electrical) resistance.
TremendousJudge 9y ago
There's also a good writeup in xkcd what-if[1] https://what-if.xkcd.com/16/ https://what-if.xkcd.com/16/