Rotating Electric Dipole Positive Feedback Model: A New Mechanism for Thunderstorm Cloud Lightning Genesis and Methane Energy Amplification

Rotating Electric Dipole Positive Feedback Model: A New Mechanism for Thunderstorm Cloud Lightning Genesis and Methane Energy Amplification | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Rotating Electric Dipole Positive Feedback Model: A New Mechanism for Thunderstorm Cloud Lightning Genesis and Methane Energy Amplification Xianguang Pan, Chengpeng Zhang, Xiao Pan This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-9632082/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Traditional ice crystal-graupel collision electrification theory struggles to fully explain lightning energy sources, discharge phenomena, seasonal and regional disparities in lightning activity, and the coupling between atmospheric electric fields and cloud-top rotational dynamics. This study, leveraging cumulonimbus electrical characteristics and strong convective processes alongside novel data, proposes a rotating electric dipole positive feedback model. This model unravels the complete physical chain governing lightning energy, tracing its path from solar origins to final triggering. It elucidates how fair-weather atmospheric electric fields establish a near-surface negative charge environment via electrode effects. Powerful updrafts then transport water vapor and ions into the cloud-top vortex, where centrifugal forces sculpt a rotating electric dipole—concentrating positive charges internally and negative charges externally. Following the vertical separation of these charge regions, the dipole undergoes continuous contraction, driving a nonlinear surge in the electric field intensity. Ultimately, the impurity-laden water vapor flow experiences surface flashover breakdown, triggering lightning and igniting methane microbubbles. Results demonstrate that methane microdeflagration substantially amplifies lightning energy and fosters carbon cycle closure, while the observed spatiotemporal lightning distribution aligns precisely with model predictions. Building upon this proposed lightning genesis framework, the study also ventures to speculate on the formation and growth mechanisms of ball lightning. This model directly addresses the shortcomings of classical theory, establishing a novel framework for atmospheric lightning physics with profound implications for advancing lightning forecasting and protection strategies. Physical sciences/Physics Earth and environmental sciences/Space physics Atmospheric electricity Lightning genesis Rotating electric dipole Thundercloud electrification Methane microdeflagration Ball lightning Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-9632082","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":636176172,"identity":"eb256b39-be33-457c-82c8-352557d28697","order_by":0,"name":"Xianguang Pan","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAAxElEQVRIiWNgGAWjYBACfvb2Awc/VPyT42dmPvyAKC2SPWcSD0ucOWAs2c6WZkCUFoMbCcYHeNsOJG44z6MgQaQtBxIOSLbdMTY+zMNgwFBjE01QCz9744EDBeeeyZkd5j3wgOFYWm4DUbZIlDEbmx3mSzBgbDhMWAvQLwYHeNiYEzc38xhIkKCl7XDiBmZitQADOQEYyGnGEoeBgZxAjF+AUXn444cKGzn+/sOHH3yosSGsBRUkkKZ8FIyCUTAKRgEuAADly0hSIvKBRAAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==","orcid":"","institution":"Independent Researcher","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Xianguang","middleName":"","lastName":"Pan","suffix":""},{"id":636176175,"identity":"6c147af3-b5fc-44d8-b200-17fb178da3f4","order_by":1,"name":"Chengpeng Zhang","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Independent Researcher","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Chengpeng","middleName":"","lastName":"Zhang","suffix":""},{"id":636176176,"identity":"d90c3e12-33a0-4115-9406-2deec6e93e58","order_by":2,"name":"Xiao Pan","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Independent Researcher","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Xiao","middleName":"","lastName":"Pan","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2026-05-06 14:26:32","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9632082/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9632082/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":109307625,"identity":"30f6b58a-3dac-4ed3-837c-ef53d3da6c2b","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-05-15 10:25:49","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":695343,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"90f80fen1.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-9632082/v1_covered_70fe124f-00a8-4149-bf55-82bb6640fd75.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Rotating Electric Dipole Positive Feedback Model: A New Mechanism for Thunderstorm Cloud Lightning Genesis and Methane Energy Amplification","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":true,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Atmospheric electricity, Lightning genesis, Rotating electric dipole, Thundercloud electrification, Methane microdeflagration, Ball lightning","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9632082/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9632082/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eTraditional ice crystal-graupel collision electrification theory struggles to fully explain lightning energy sources, discharge phenomena, seasonal and regional disparities in lightning activity, and the coupling between atmospheric electric fields and cloud-top rotational dynamics. This study, leveraging cumulonimbus electrical characteristics and strong convective processes alongside novel data, proposes a rotating electric dipole positive feedback model. This model unravels the complete physical chain governing lightning energy, tracing its path from solar origins to final triggering. It elucidates how fair-weather atmospheric electric fields establish a near-surface negative charge environment via electrode effects. Powerful updrafts then transport water vapor and ions into the cloud-top vortex, where centrifugal forces sculpt a rotating electric dipole\u0026mdash;concentrating positive charges internally and negative charges externally. Following the vertical separation of these charge regions, the dipole undergoes continuous contraction, driving a nonlinear surge in the electric field intensity. Ultimately, the impurity-laden water vapor flow experiences surface flashover breakdown, triggering lightning and igniting methane microbubbles. Results demonstrate that methane microdeflagration substantially amplifies lightning energy and fosters carbon cycle closure, while the observed spatiotemporal lightning distribution aligns precisely with model predictions. Building upon this proposed lightning genesis framework, the study also ventures to speculate on the formation and growth mechanisms of ball lightning. This model directly addresses the shortcomings of classical theory, establishing a novel framework for atmospheric lightning physics with profound implications for advancing lightning forecasting and protection strategies.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Rotating Electric Dipole Positive Feedback Model: A New Mechanism for Thunderstorm Cloud Lightning Genesis and Methane Energy Amplification","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2026-05-11 03:12:41","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9632082/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"b75c5b6c-4e16-4136-9d27-2f03a226a834","owner":[],"postedDate":"May 11th, 2026","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[{"type":"decision","content":"Rejected","date":"2026-05-15T10:12:48+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvited","content":"","date":"2026-05-13T12:42:26+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorAssigned","content":"","date":"2026-05-07T11:54:41+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"checksComplete","content":"","date":"2026-05-07T11:54:10+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"submitted","content":"Scientific Reports","date":"2026-05-06T14:17:03+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""}],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"posted","subjectAreas":[{"id":67711583,"name":"Physical sciences/Physics"},{"id":67711584,"name":"Earth and environmental sciences/Space physics"}],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2026-05-15T10:25:12+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2026-05-11 03:12:41","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-9632082","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-9632082","identity":"rs-9632082","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"XKTyCvWXoU3ODBz1xrDgd","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}