Lightning
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WHAT IS IT?
This model shows how lightning is generated. The process consists of two phases: the production of the electric field, and the air ionization to create the bolt. This model represents the latter phase.
Lightning is one of the most visually impressive and frequently occurring natural phenomena on Earth. However, very few people actually have a solid understanding of what causes lightning, how it works, and why it occurs. This model attempts to illustrate lightning strikes from beginning to end at the level of individual charges. The user will observe how the behavior and interaction of extremely small charges can lead to very powerful and visually impressive action of a lightning strike.
In order to thoroughly understand the phenomenon of lightning one must have a strong understanding of electrical physics and thermodynamics. In order to be accessible this model avoids such complicated topics and instead provides a more general basis for charge and particle behavior. The emphasis in this model is to understand lightning as it relates to individual charges, not the underlying forces behind the charges themselves.
HOW IT WORKS
How does lightning work?
The Earth (green squares) and sky (black squares) serve as the layout for the world. The cloud appears as a gray cloud-shape at the top of the skyline. Among these are three main attributes that influence the production of lightning: step leaders at the bottom of the clouds (blue negative circles), dust particles in the air (dark gray squares), and positive streamers on the surface of the Earth (red positive circles).
The initial cause of a lightning strike is a separation of charge within a cloud. Positively charged particles accumulate at the top of the cloud while negatively charged particles concentrate themselves at the bottom of the cloud. Within the cloud the charges move in a random manner; however, they are constrained to their charge regions. The negative charges in the bottom of the cloud have such a high concentration that they force the electrons on the Earth's surface deep into the ground. This also has the effect of pulling the positive charges in the Earth's surface.
As the strength of the electric field increases the air around the cloud breaks down and converts into plasma, or ionized air. The positive and negative components of the air itself are pulled apart and separated from each other. This separation allows the electrons to flow through the plasma much more easily than they could through normal air. As electrons flow through the plasma they force the air around them to become plasma in turn. In this way electrons in the cloud "burn out" paths towards the Earth. The paths are known as step leaders, and grow from cloud to ground in a tentacle-like manner.
Impurities in the air may cause some patches of air to turn into plasma more easily than others. Rather than direct lines from cloud to ground, lightning takes the path of least resistance. In this model this is illustrated by distribution of dust particles throughout the sky.
Streamers are the positive equivalent of the negative step leaders created by clouds. However, streamers are not self-sufficient and thus do not grow indefinitely towards the cloud. All objects on the Earth's surface will emit a streamer, though depending on the size and material of the object the streamer's length may vary. Streamers are released much more quickly than a step leader since they are much smaller and only extend a very limited distance.
Step leaders progress towards the ground until they encounter either the ground or a streamer. In both cases the "circuit" is completed and charge may flow freely between cloud and ground. The large concentration of positive charges on the Earth's surface flow very quickly through the plasma stream towards the sky and neutralize the electrons in the cloud. The flash of light that is seen is the rapid movement of charge through the air, exactly the same as the light you see during a spark of static electricity.
Once the massive negative charge in the cloud has been neutralized the flow of charge through the air comes to a stop. The plasma becomes de-ionized and once again becomes air as the step leaders are destroyed. The environment is now ready to begin the process anew.
How does the model work?
There are a series of breeds that live in the world that simulate lightning.
Trees - These are the trees on the Earth's surface. They stand above the Earth's surface and release positive streamers.
Positive Cloud Ions - These are the positive ions that bounce around the top of the cloud. As molecules of water evaporate, they collide into one another and exchange charges. Those with positive charges move to the top of the cloud.
Negative Cloud Ions - These are negatively charged ions at the bottom part of the cloud. They move around the cloud and become step leaders.
Positive Ground Ions - These are the positive ions on the Earth's surface. As the electric field forms around the cloud it pulls the positive charges to the top of the Earth's surface.
Step Leaders - These are the negative ions that branch out from the bottom of the cloud. The ions are drawn to the positive charge on the Earth's surface, particularly the positive streamers. These particles leave a path of ionized air as they travel; they tend to move towards the Earth's surface or impurities, such as dust, in the air. When the step leaders reach the Earth's surface, a positive streamer, or a tree, the path is closed and lightning strikes. There is a chance that the step leader will die and the path will fade.
Positive Streamers - These are the positive ions that branch upwards from the Earth's surface. They tend to move towards the electric field formed by the cloud or step leaders. If the positive streamer reaches the path of ionized air or connects with a step leader then lightning strikes.
These breeds live together following specific rules elaborated below:
At every time step, each step leader moves towards the Earth ionizing a blue path of air along the way. This path is found using the following criteria:
- if one of the immediate neighbors is a dust particle, there is a chance that it will move to that patch
- if there is no dust, then if one of the patches in front of it is a positiveStreamer, it moves one step towards it
- otherwise, the leader will move in a random direction towards the Earth's surface with the highest probably being directly downwards
After the step leaders have made one move we check their new position. If they have moved of the edge of the world, then their path fades. Some paths also fade by chance.
If the path does not fade we check to see if they have closed a connection by hitting any of a tree, a positive streamer, a positive streamer's path, or the Earth's surface. If so, then lightning strikes.
When lightning strikes, the patch at which the connection took place will turn yellow to indicate a connection. From there each patch will ask its neighbors to check if they've been ionized (or are a blue or violet color). If they have been ionized, they too will turn yellow and ask their neighbors about their color. If the neighboring patches have not been ionized they will turn white to highlight the glow of the lightning bolt. This cycle continues until the the surface of the Earth and the top of the cloud are reached. This indicates that the charge has been released, and the paths are removed from the world.
Since the positive streamers (from the ground) grow at a slower rate than the step leaders, after 40 ticks have passed the streamers begin to grow up by one step for every tick. The direction of their growth is random, but most likely in the upward direction.
The ions in the clouds shift their location to indicate the motion of the particles in the cloud.
HOW TO USE IT
SETUP button - sets up the step leaders, dust particles and positive streamers in the world
GO button - runs the model
STRENGTH-OF-FIELD slider - changes the strength of the electric field produced within the cloud
SIZE-OF-CLOUD slider - changes the size of the cloud
NUMBER-OF-TREES slider - changes the number of trees on the Earth's surface
DUST slider - changes the number of dust particles in the sky between the cloud and the Earth's surface
The model runs until all paths have died or a bolt of lightning has been produced.
THINGS TO NOTICE
Notice the charges on the earth's surface and how they relate to the cloud's field and position.
Notice how the trees and dust particles change the path taken from the cloud. The location and size of the trees influence the pull on the ionized air.
The positive streamers and the step-leaders have similar behavior as they grow; however, the speed, distance, and strategy in which they do so is quite different. Can you tell how these paths differ?
THINGS TO TRY
Try different settings for the strength of field. What do you notice about the amount of lightning that is formed?
How are the strength of field and size of the cloud related?
Does the cloud size have any effect on the lightning formed?
Does varying the amount of dust or impurities in the air have influence on the path taken by the step leaders?
EXTENDING THE MODEL
Consider other features that influence lightning paths, such as lightning rods. How do these influence the path or amount of lightning produced?
The positive streamers have potential to grow towards the electric field of the cloud. How does their growth influence the paths?
Currently, the shape of the cloud does not affect the direction that a step leader starts out traveling. Modify the code to allow a user to change the shape of the cloud, and cause step leaders to progress perpendicularly from its surface.
RELATED MODELS
"Climate Change" has some similarities. In both cases, there is a relationship to cloud behavior.
"Percolation" also has similar features to the way elements move through their world.
CREDITS AND REFERENCES
Wikipedia on Lightning:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lightning
How Stuff Works on Lightning:
http://science.howstuffworks.com/nature/natural-disasters/lightning.htm
National Geographic on Lightning:
http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/natural-disasters/lightning-profile.html
HOW TO CITE
If you mention this model in a publication, we ask that you include these citations for the model itself and for the NetLogo software:
- Atrash, Z. and Wilensky, U. (2011). NetLogo Lightning model. http://ccl.northwestern.edu/netlogo/models/Lightning. Center for Connected Learning and Computer-Based Modeling, Northwestern Institute on Complex Systems, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL.
- Wilensky, U. (1999). NetLogo. http://ccl.northwestern.edu/netlogo/. Center for Connected Learning and Computer-Based Modeling, Northwestern Institute on Complex Systems, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL.
COPYRIGHT AND LICENSE
Copyright 2011 Uri Wilensky.
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ or send a letter to Creative Commons, 559 Nathan Abbott Way, Stanford, California 94305, USA.
Commercial licenses are also available. To inquire about commercial licenses, please contact Uri Wilensky at uri@northwestern.edu.
Comments and Questions
;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;; ;; Variables ;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;; ;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;; globals [ cloud-line ;; y coordinate of bottom row of cloud surface ;; y coordinate of top row of earth top-of-cloud bottom-of-cloud dust-probability fade-probability lightning-struck? hit-tree? ] breed [trees my-tree] breed [clouds cloud] breed [positive-cloud-ions positive-cloud-ion] breed [negative-cloud-ions negative-cloud-ion] breed [positive-ground-ions positive-ground-ion] breed [step-leaders step-leader] breed [positive-streamers positive-streamer] ;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;; ;; Setup Procedures ;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;; ;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;; ;; ;;;;;; Setup ;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;; ;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;; to setup clear-all setup-world reset-ticks end ;; ;;;;;; Setup World ;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;; ;; set up the world background ;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;; to setup-world ;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;; set global variable values set cloud-line 100 set surface -50; set the height of the earth set top-of-cloud 86 set bottom-of-cloud (75 - (size-of-cloud)) set dust-probability 70 ;; the probability the ionzation will happen to a dust particle set fade-probability 1 ;; the probability a path of ionized air will end or fade set lightning-struck? false set hit-tree? false ;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;; set colors for the patches in the background ask patches [ if pycor = surface ;; set color of the earth surface with input number of positive streamers [set pcolor green - 1] if pycor > (cloud-line - 1) [set pcolor gray] ;;set color of the cloud if pycor > surface and pycor < cloud-line [set pcolor black] ;; set color of the sky if pycor < surface [set pcolor green] ;; set color of the earth ] ;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;; create the trees in the meadow based on the slider value for the number of trees create-trees number-of-trees [ ;; half the trees are trees and half are pines ifelse ((random 2) = 0) [set shape "myTree"] [set shape "myPineTree"] set size ((random 20) + 15) setxy random-pxcor (surface + size / 2) ] ;;create cloud create-clouds 1 [ set shape "cloud" set size (size-of-cloud * 20) setxy 0 75 ] ;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;create Ions in the world and cloud create-positive-cloud-ions strength-of-field create-negative-cloud-ions strength-of-field create-positive-ground-ions strength-of-field ask positive-cloud-ions [ set shape "+" set size 7 setxy random-x-in-cloud (top-of-cloud - random-y-in-cloud) ] ask negative-cloud-ions [ set shape "-" set size 7 setxy random-x-in-cloud (bottom-of-cloud - random-y-in-cloud) ] ask positive-ground-ions [ set shape "+" set size 7 setxy random-x-in-cloud (surface - random 15) ;; distribute randomly along the surface, beneath the cloud area ] setup-streamers-leaders add-dust end ;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;; ;;create and place the streamers and leaders ;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;; to setup-streamers-leaders ;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;create lightning makers create-step-leaders strength-of-field ask step-leaders [ set shape "negativeStrm" set size 5 let xcoor ((random (size-of-cloud * 15)) - (size-of-cloud * 7)) setxy xcoor (bottom-of-cloud - (size-of-cloud * 2)) facexy xcoor surface ] create-positive-streamers strength-of-field ask positive-streamers [ set shape "positiveStrm" set size 5 let xcoor random-x-in-cloud setxy xcoor surface while [(pcolor = lime) or (pcolor = turquoise) or (pcolor = brown)] [ set ycor (ycor + 1) ] facexy xcoor bottom-of-cloud ] end ;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;; ;; The ions move around as a result of bouncing around and colliding (not explicitly modelled). ;; There is a charge separation within the cloud, the cause of which is not entirely understood, ;; although there are theories. The separation is illustrated in this model, but the underlying ;; cause/process of the separation is not explicitly modelled. ;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;; to make-ions-move ask positive-cloud-ions [ ;; set the position to a random X, and change the Y by a random amount to stay in upper area of cloud setxy random-x-in-cloud (top-of-cloud - random-y-in-cloud) ] ask negative-cloud-ions [;; set the position to a random X, and change the Y by a random amount to stay in lower area of cloud setxy random-x-in-cloud (bottom-of-cloud - random-y-in-cloud) ] end ;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;; ;;; determine the area of the cloud ;;; and randomly select positions from width and height (X and Y) ;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;; ;; get a random X coordinate within the cloud's area to-report random-x-in-cloud ;; the width is determined by multiplying the size-of-cloud variable by 15 ;; however, we subtract a multiple of the size to make the distribution cover the positive and negative regions of the axis report random (size-of-cloud * 15) - (size-of-cloud * 7) end ;; get a random Y coordinate within the cloud's area to-report random-y-in-cloud ;; the height of the cloud is determined by doubling the size-of-cloud variable report random (size-of-cloud * 2) end ;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;; ;;; disperse dust into the air ;;; these particles influence the path of the lightning ;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;; to add-dust ask n-of dust patches with [pycor > surface and pycor < cloud-line] [ set pcolor gray - 2 ] end ;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;; ;;; Runtime Procedures ;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;; ;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;; to go ;; if lightning has struck, clear the faded paths as the charge has now been neutralized if lightning-struck? [ clear-fades ;; if there's been a lightning strike, clear all the faded paths stop ] ;; if the leaders and streamers have all died or faded, stop the model if (not any? step-leaders) and (not any? positive-streamers) [ stop ] ;; since the positive streamers grow at a slower rate than the step leaders, ;; we keep track of the time so make them move at appropriate times compared to each other ;; the step leaders leave the cloud and move towards the earth at one patch per tick move-step-leaders-down ;; meanwhile, the positive streamers extend from the earth towards the cloud, but at a slower rate if ticks > 50 [grow-positive-streamers-up] ;; as time moves on the ions move around the cloud make-ions-move tick end ;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;; ;; get the step leaders to move towards the earth ;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;; to move-step-leaders-down let movex 0 let movey 0 ask step-leaders[ set moveX 1000 ;; default values to indicate that the move coordinates have not been set set moveY 1000 ask neighbors with [pcolor = gray - 2] [ ;; if the patch is gray then the leader ;; has reached a dust particle and is more likely ;; move that direction and ionize it if random 100 < dust-probability [ set movex pxcor set movey pycor ] ] ;; if the stepleaders sense a positive streamer they move towards it let xcoor xcor let ycoor ycor ;; so we check for positive streamers between the leader and the ground ask patches in-cone 10 60 [ ifelse any? trees-here ;; if any tree exists in the local area [ ifelse ((xcoor - pxcor) > 0) ;; check if it is to the left [set movex (xcoor - 1)] ;; then move one step to the left [set movex (xcoor + 1)] ;; otherwise, it is to the right, so move one step to the right set movey (ycoor - 1) ;; move down one step closer to the surface ] [ if any? positive-streamers-here ;; if one exists then the leader moves in the direction towards it [ ifelse ((xcoor - pxcor) > 0) ;; if the positive streamer is to the left [set movex (xcoor - 1)] ;; then move one step to the left [set movex (xcoor + 1)] ;; otherwise, it is to the right, so move one step to the right set movey (ycoor - 1) ] ;; move down one step closer to the surface ]] ;; if no charges or dust particles are encouraging direction, pick at random but most likely toward earth ;; the random numbers are used to show the probabilities of ionized air moving in specific directions. ;; the path will move based on some probability of ten by selecting a random number below 10. ;; these probabilities are not scientific and are used only to help guide the path if movex = 1000 [ ;;set y movement let rand-no random 10 ;; if that number is greater than 2, the path will move directly down one towards earth (80%). ;; if it is less than 2 the path won't move (10%) ;; if it is 2 the path will move up one towards the cloud (10%) ifelse (rand-no > 2)[ set movey ycor - 1 ][ ifelse (rand-no < 2)[ set movey ycor ][ set movey ycor + 1 ] ] ;; if that number is greater than 6, the path will move to the left (40%). ;; if it is less than 2 the path won't move (20%) ;; if it is between 2 and 5 the path will move to the right (40%) ;;set x movement set rand-no random 10 ifelse (rand-no > 6)[ set movex xcor - 1 ][ ifelse (rand-no < 3)[ set movex xcor ][ set movex xcor + 1 ] ] ] ;; make sure its still in the bounds of the world; otherwise, the path fades ifelse (movex < min-pxcor) or (movex > max-pxcor) or (movey > max-pycor) [die] [If (random 100 < fade-probability) ;; these is some chance (the fade-probability) that the path will fade on its own [die] setxy movex movey ] ;; check if the path hit a tree did-hit-tree ;; and change whatever patch the leader has moved to plasma, or a blue patch ask patch-here [ ifelse (any? positive-streamers-here or ;; if that patch is a positive streamer, or (pcolor = (violet + 3)) or ;; the path of a streamer, or (hit-tree?) or ;; a tree, or (pycor = surface)) ;; the earth's surface [ make-lightning movex movey ;; then lightning strikes and we turn the patch yellow set pcolor yellow ] [ set pcolor (blue + 3)] ;; otherwise, turn that patch of air to plasma (ie, a blue patch) ] ] end ;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;; ;; here we approximate the position of trees using a circle roughly the size of the trees ;; if the step leader path reaches the tree, lightning strikes ;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;; to did-hit-tree ask patches in-radius 12 [ if any? trees-here [ set hit-tree? true ] ] end ;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;; ;; grow the positive streamers toward the cloud ;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;; to grow-positive-streamers-up ask positive-streamers [ let movex 0 let movey 0 ;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;; if the patch is gray then the leader has reached a dust particle and is more likely to ionize it ask neighbors [ if pcolor = gray - 2 [ if random 100 < dust-probability [ set movex pxcor set movey pycor ] ] ] ;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;; generate random direction moves for the path to grow if (movex = 0)[ ;;set y movement let rand-no random 10 ifelse (rand-no < 8)[ set movey ycor + 1 ][ ifelse (rand-no < 2)[ set movey ycor ][ set movey ycor - 1 ] ] ;;set x movement set rand-no random 11 ifelse (rand-no < 5)[ set movex xcor - 1 ][ ifelse (rand-no < 2)[ set movex xcor ][ set movex xcor + 1 ] ] ] ;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;; if the movement is off the screen, kill the stream let random-growth-height (surface + random 20 + 20) ifelse (moveX < min-pxcor) or (movex > max-pxcor) or (moveY < surface) or (movey > max-pycor) or (moveY > random-growth-height) [die] [if (random 100 < fade-probability) ;;there is some probability that the stream will just end [die] setxy movex movey ] ;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;; if the patch is empty then change the color to show the path is now positive ;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;; if the patch has both a stepleader and a positive streamer the paths connect and lightning strikes! ask patch-here [ ifelse (any? step-leaders-here or (pcolor = (blue + 3))) [make-lightning movex movey set pcolor yellow ] [set pcolor (violet + 3)] ] ] ;; end ask +streamers end ;;; ;;;;;;; Make Lightning ;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;; ;; we'll check all the neighboring patches to see if they've been ionized (or turned light blue color) ;; if they have been they are now charged and send it to their neighbors as well ;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;; to make-lightning [x y] set lightning-struck? true create-strike x y end to create-strike [x y] if (y < bottom-of-cloud) and (y > (surface - 1)) [ ask neighbors [ if (pcolor = (violet + 3)) or (pcolor = (blue + 3)) [ set pcolor yellow make-lightning pxcor pycor ] if pcolor = black [ set pcolor white ] ] ] end ;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;; ;;clear the remaining positive streamers from the sky ;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;; to clear-fades ask patches [ if (pcolor = (violet + 3)) or (pcolor = (blue + 3)) [ set pcolor black ] ] ask positive-streamers [ die ] ask step-leaders [ die ] end ; Copyright 2011 Uri Wilensky. ; See Info tab for full copyright and license.
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Lightning.png | preview | Preview for 'Lightning' | over 11 years ago, by Uri Wilensky | Download |
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