Earlier
this morning [21-03-2015] the Villarrica volcano erupted in Chile, forcing thousands of
residents and tourists to flee from the city of Pucón.
Images of the eruption
show a towering lava fountain glowing against the dark backdrop of the pre-dawn
sky. One image, distributed by the Associated Press shows something even
stranger: lightning, arcing through the cloud of ash.
The weird appearance of lightning during volcanic eruptions has been documented
for some time now, but until recently, scientists weren't sure what caused the
lightning bolts to appear. They were pretty sure it had something to do with
the particles of ash from the eruption getting an electric charge as they
spewed out of the volcano, but nobody could figure out how the charge got
there.
Scientists found that particles of ash manage to charge each other through
friction, just rubbing against each other during the 'eruption'.
SOURCE - Glenn Burns
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