Progression of thunder and lightning

[Loose rivets]

Originally Posted by vapilot2004

Just thought this was fascinating:
Sprites @ Nasa.gov
More on Sprites

I suggested 15 years ago to a scientist on a BBC radio program, that Sprites were the result of the core of a lightning strike ‘lasing.' I will search for my notes on the subject, but in essence it was the sheer surfeit of energy that enabled a plasma / water droplet-filled core to form a crude lense. The collapse of fields are fairly obvious.

It seems that after all these years, no better idea has been put forward.