Since the 1920s, up until a decade or so ago: "Many investigators believed that the lower atmosphere was too dense for electrons to accelerate to speeds high en

Since the 1920s, up until a decade or so ago: "Many investigators believed that the lower atmosphere was too dense for electrons to accelerate to speeds high enough to emit x-rays and other high-energy particles. Instead, they thought that lightning worked by conventional energy discharge--a bigger version of the spark that occurs when you touch a doorknob after trudging across the rug." http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=x-rays-abound-when-lightn http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=x-rays-abou... Pilots reported red and blue jets and sprites for a long time but noone believed them. http://www.islandnet.com/~see/weather/elements/bluejets.htm http://www.islandnet.com/~see/weather/elements/bluejets.htm How thunderstorms work is still poorly understood. This building evidence is exciting a lot of new research and ideas. A lot of people are impressed that the earth can generate gamma rays of higher energy than those from the sun.