This book, Fundamentals of Lightning (FOL), can be viewed as a condensed and updated version of Lightning: Physics and Effects (LPE), a 687-page monograph that was co-authored by Professor M. A. Uman and me and published by Cambridge University Press in 2003. As such, FOL draws heavily on LPE, although the new book contains a considerable amount of new material, particularly in Chapters 5, 7, 8, and 9 and in Appendices 3 –5 and 7 –9. Also, most of the material has been reorganized and brought up to date.

LPE (still in print) covers essentially all aspects of lightning, including lightning physics, lightning protection, and the interaction of lightning with a variety of objects and systems, as well as with the environment. It has become an important reference (over 1,000 citations, according to Google Scholar) on lightning and its effects for professionals and students alike. LPE has also been used as the textbook for a one-semester course, “Lightning,” at the University of Florida (UF) and for other similar university courses worldwide. UF currently offers both graduate and senior undergraduate versions of the course, with typical total enrollment being 30 to 40. In using LPE as the textbook for over 10 years, I found it to be less than optimal in that it contains significantly more material than can be taught in a one-semester Lightning course, while lacking some material (for example, measurement of lightning electric and magnetic fields) covered by the course. Additionally, the LPE material is structured differently from the course syllabus. The content and the structure of the new, condensed book are harmonized with those of the UF Lightning course and, I hope, this will be appreciated by students. FOL includes a number of pedagogical enhancements: questions and problems at the end of each chapter, a glossary explaining basic lightning and atmospheric electricity terms, end-of-chapter summaries (points to remember), and further reading suggestions. Appendix 3 contains detailed derivations of exact equations for computing electric and magnetic fields produced by lightning, as per the recommendation of one of the reviewers of the book proposal. The prerequisite for the Lightning course at UF, which is part of the Electromagnetics curriculum, is an undergraduate course in electromagnetics, but an undergraduate general physics course that covers electromagnetics in moderate detail would be acceptable too.