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FIRST
PHASE
The voltage between the cloud and the ground increases until an ionized path is created emanating from the cloud. That ionized path travels in leaps towards the earth. |
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SECOND
PHASE
The extremity of the leader has the same potential as the cloud. As the leader nears the earth, the atmospheric potential increases above the ground and the
ION STREAMER is electrically charged. |
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THIRD
PHASE
When the extremity of the leader arrives at a critical position, the
ION STREAMER reaches its maximum electrical charge, and the streamer emission of the accumulated current is produced on its extremity which ionizes the air around the summit. |
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FOURTH
PHASE
The electrical arc, generated at the tip of the
ION STREAMER, provokes a streamer emission which rises toward the leader more quickly than on a simple rod (it is the early streamer emission). |
