Modeling gas-dynamic processes in thunderstorms by powerful electric discharges

Conditions of using electric discharges for laboratory modeling of gas-dynamic processes in thunderstorms are considered. Methods of experimental modeling of lightning bolts by capacitor bank discharges are developed. Modeling criteria are obtained from the general equations describing the model and full-scale processes. Channel and blast-wave parameters were measured during powerful electric discharges in model experiments. Experimental data are compared with calculations of the explosion effect using various techniques. The TNT equivalents of the electric discharges modeling thunderstorms are determined. The lightning energy is estimated from its photographs, and the parameters of the blast wave in the near zone and acoustic perturbations at large distances in the air and ground are determined.