Dictionary

superbolt en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• (US) audio

Etymology

From super- + bolt (“lightning bolt”).

Meanings

1. (rare) A rare form of lightning where the bolt is much stronger (such as 100x) and lasts much longer (such as 5x) than the usual forms of lightning.
   • In rare cases a positively charged giant 'superbolt' may discharge from the forward (or rear) anvil cloud to the negatively charged ground ahead of (or behind) the thunderstorm base. 2015, Derek M. Elsom, Lightning: Nature and Culture:
   • A typical lightning bolt has an optical power of about 1 billion watts. The superbolt flashes radiate 100 billion to 10 trillion (10¹¹)-(10¹³) watts. They are quite rare. 1979, Kendrick Frazier, The Violent Face of Nature: Severe Phenomena and Natural Disasters, Morrow, →ISBN, page 97:
   • This low lightning rate is insufficient to affect the global NOx production, however it may cause local enhancement near Japan where most superbolts occur. 1981, Marta Kowalczyk, Lightning as a source of NOx in the troposphere:

Forms