A Kyoto University-based team has unraveled the mystery of gamma-ray emission cascades caused by lightning strikes. Credit: Kyoto University/Teruaki Enoto
Researchers find that lightning strikes causes photonuclear reactions in the atmosphere, creating antimatter. Researchers from Japan describe how gamma rays from lightning react with the air to produce radioisotopes and even positrons – the antimatter equivalent of electrons. “We already knew that thunderclouds and lightning emit gamma rays, and hypothesized that they would react in some way with the nuclei of environmental elements in the atmosphere,” explains Teruaki Enoto from Kyoto University.
“In winter, Japan’s western coastal area is ideal for observing powerful lightning and thunderstorms...
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