Stepped Leader Growth: Dielectric Breakdown Model

Real lightning does not draw a straight line from cloud to ground — it grows downward in discrete, forking steps, and the branching pattern it settles on is statistically fractal. This simulator reproduces that process with a dielectric breakdown model: an approximate electric field is computed between a charged cloud base and the ground below, and at every simulated step each active channel tip picks its next position with probability proportional to the local field raised to a tunable branching exponent η. A movable grounded structure lets you see the attachment process in action — the competing field enhancement it creates pulls the nearest leader tip toward it, the same physical effect that makes lightning rods work. Live readouts track elapsed time, average descent speed, and channel structure as the discharge grows toward its return-stroke connection.