quasar987 said:
It's written 'dissociate': "Estimate the strenght of the electrical field needed to dissociate a molecule of N2".
You might dissociate N2, but it will only be thermally; not from an electric field.
If, in order to dissociate the molecule, all it takes is to "eject" 6 of its 14 electrons, how does dissociation takes more energy then ionisation, where all 14 electrons must go ?!
To, ionize a nitrogen molecule, you only need remove ONE electron.
Well we're talking about the dissociation process that happens in the atmosphere during a thunderstorm and that causes the N2 molecules to dissociate.
As far as I'm aware, ionization is the dominant process here, not dissociation - which may also happen, due to the heat generated.
Look up : www.iop.org/EJ/article/0034-4885/65/6/202/r20602.pdf[/URL]
From : [url]http://www.cltskywarn.org/lightning.htm[/url]
[quote]How a Lightning Bolt Forms
It is difficult to study lightning within the cloud; it is not a very comfortable environment for the scientist and his delicate instruments. But lightning to the ground can be seen and photographed with high-speed cameras, and from this scientists have learned much about the progressive build-up of a lightning flash. Here is the picture that emerges.
From laboratory studies of electrical breakdown of air, it is known that a lightning flash begins when the electric field reaches a strength of about three million volts per meter (75,000 volts per inch). What happens is that the few electrons that are always being freed by cosmic rays are pushed hard enough at this voltage that they knock other electrons out of the neutral molecules that they strike. These, in turn, are accelerated, collide with new molecules, and ionize them. Thus a veritable avalanche of electrons builds up, moving away from the negative charge in the cloud and leaving a trail of positive ions behind. This weakens the resistance of the air and pierces a path the developing stroke of lightning through the insulating blanket. [/quote]
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