Natural lightning

The present understanding of natural lightning is reviewed. Research on lightning has been motivated, in part, by the need to protect advanced ground-based and airborne systems that utilize low voltage, solid-state electronics; by the desire to prevent spectacular accidents, such as occurred in 1969 during the launch of Apollo 12 and in 1987 during the launch of Atlas-Centaur 67; and by the desire to elucidate the physics of one of nature's most impressive phenomena. The author discusses lightning sources, natural lightning, negative and positive cloud-to-ground lightning, upward lightning, cloud discharges, top-of-the cloud and clear air lightning, lightning avoidance and lightning protection.>