Lightning can trigger nuclear reactions, creating rare

atomic isotopes
Rare forms of atoms, like carbon-13, carbon-14, and nitrogen-15, have long been used to figure out the ages
of ancient artifacts and probe the nuances of prehistoric food chains. The source of these rare isotopes?
Complicated cascades of subatomic reactions in the atmosphere triggered by high-energy cosmic rays from
outer space. Now, a team of scientists is adding one more isotope initiator to its list: lightning. Carbon-13, one
tracer used to probe a variety of geochemical processes, is typically formed when high-energy cosmic rays
enter the atmosphere and strike the most abundant form of nitrogen there—nitrogen-14 atoms. The atoms lose
a neutron, and the unstable nitrogen-13 atom left behind sheds a neutrino and a positively charged electron, or
positron. The reaction (and the subsequent annihilation of the positron when it collides with a negatively
charged electron) produces a stable carbon-13 atom and two gamma rays with a very particular energy—often
used to detect cosmic rays. But back in February, scientists observing an afternoon thunderstorm off the
northwestern coast of Japan picked up the same signals. What’s more, the team also detected the wider range
of gamma rays given off by unstable nitrogen-15 atoms created when free neutrons slammed into nitrogen-14
atoms. That means that strong bolts of lightning can unleash the same flurry of nuclear reactions as
cosmic rays, the researchers report today in Nature. But, they add, the isotopes created by these storms likely
constitute a small portion of all such atoms—so the new findings are unlikely to change the way other scientists
use them for dating and geotracing.

Lightning strikes cause nuclear reactions in the

atmosphere
Thunderstorms are a previously unrecognised natural source of carbon, nitrogen and oxygen
isotopes

Photonuclear reactions triggered by lightning during a thunderstorm have been directly observed for
the first time. Bursts of lightning are known to produce γ rays in the form of high energy photons, and
it has long been speculated that these could collide with other atomic nuclei in the atmosphere leading
to radioactive decay. For example, when nitrogen-14 or oxygen-16 are hit by high energy photons
unstable radioactive isotopes like nitrogen-13 or oxygen-15 are generated, along with neutrons. The
unstable nuclei then gradually decay into stable carbon-13 or nitrogen-15 while emitting positrons.
But these reactions had never been observed taking place during thunderstorms, as the distances
involved made measuring the radiation a challenge.

Now, researchers in Japan have used readings from four radiation detectors at a nuclear power
station in Niigata to observe photonuclear reactions that were triggered during a thunderstorm
around 1km away on 6 February. As lightning struck, all four detectors picked up an initial burst of γ
radiation lasting just 200 milliseconds, followed by neutrons and positrons that were generated by the
resulting atmospheric photonuclear reactions.

The researchers say that these lightning-triggered reactions reveal a hitherto unrecognised natural
process responsible for generating different isotopes of carbon, nitrogen and oxygen on Earth.
A Kyoto University-based team has unraveled the mystery of gamma-ray emission cascades caused by lightning
strikes.

Credit: Kyoto University/Teruaki Enoto

A storm system approaches: the sky darkens, and the low
rumble of thunder echoes from the horizon. Then without
warning... Flash! Crash! -- lightning has struck.
This scene, while familiar to anyone and repeated constantly across the planet, is not without a feeling of mystery.
But now that mystery has deepened, with the discovery that lightning can result in matter-antimatter annihilation.
In a collaborative study appearing in Nature, researchers from Japan describe how gamma rays from lightning react
with the air to produce radioisotopes and even positrons -- the antimatter equivalent of electrons.
"We already knew that thunderclouds and lightning emit gamma rays, and hypothesized that they would react in
some way with the nuclei of environmental elements in the atmosphere," explains Teruaki Enoto from Kyoto
University, who leads the project.
"In winter, Japan's western coastal area is ideal for observing powerful lightning and thunderstorms. So, in 2015 we
started building a series of small gamma-ray detectors, and placed them in various locations along the coast."
But then the team ran into funding problems. To continue their work, and in part to reach out to a wide audience of
potentially interested members of the public as quickly as possible, they turned to the internet.
"We set up a crowdfunding campaign through the 'academist' site," continues Enoto, "in which we explained our
scientific method and aims for the project. Thanks to everybody's support, we were able to make far more than our
original funding goal."
Spurred by their success, the team built more detectors and installed them across the northwest coast of Honshu.
And then in February 2017, four detectors installed in Kashiwazaki city, Niigata recorded a large gamma-ray spike
immediately after a lightning strike a few hundred meters away.
It was the moment the team realized they were seeing a new, hidden face of lightning.
When they analyzed the data, the scientists found three distinct gamma-ray bursts. The first was less than one
millisecond in duration; the second was a gamma-ray afterglow that decayed over several dozens of milliseconds;
and finally there was a prolonged emission lasting about one minute.
Enoto explains, "We could tell that the first burst was from the lightning strike. Through our analysis and
calculations, we eventually determined the origins of the second and third emissions as well."
The second afterglow, for example, was caused by lightning reacting with nitrogen in the atmosphere. The gamma
rays emitted in lightning have enough energy to knock a neutron out of atmospheric nitrogen, and it was the
reabsorption of this neutron by particles in the atmosphere that produced the gamma-ray afterglow.
The final, prolonged emission was from the breakdown of now neutron-poor and unstable nitrogen atoms. These
released positrons, which subsequently collided with electrons in annihilation events releasing gamma rays.
"We have this idea that antimatter is something that only exists in science fiction. Who knew that it could be passing
right above our heads on a stormy day?" says Enoto.
"And we know all this thanks to our supporters who joined us through 'academist'. We are truly grateful to all."
The team still maintains over ten detectors on the coast of Japan, and are continually collecting data. They look
forward to new discoveries that may await them, and Enoto hopes to continue seeing the participation of ordinary
citizens in research, expanding the bounds of scientific discovery.