chainlight

Chainlight is a term that refers to a visual phenomenon observed in certain types of lightning discharges. It is characterized by a series of distinct, bright flashes occurring in rapid succession along the path of a lightning bolt. These individual flashes appear to be connected, forming a luminous chain.

This effect is most commonly associated with slow-speed photographic or video recordings of lightning. When a lightning bolt occurs, it is an extremely rapid event. However, if the recording medium's frame rate is not fast enough to capture the entire event in a single frame, or if the shutter speed is too slow, multiple stages of the discharge can be recorded within the same exposure. This results in the appearance of a series of separate but connected luminous points, creating the chainlight effect.

The underlying physics of lightning involves a rapid flow of electrical current through a plasma channel. The chainlight appearance is an artifact of how this rapid process is captured and perceived, rather than a distinct physical process of the lightning itself. Different types of lightning, such as cloud-to-ground or intra-cloud lightning, can exhibit this phenomenon depending on the recording conditions. Understanding chainlight helps in analyzing lightning behavior and in the interpretation of photographic and video evidence of these atmospheric electrical discharges.