Air doesn't stop lightning from striking...neither cloud to ground nor the reverse. It has a lot to do with voltage and grounding (transference of an electrical charge to something with a more positive charge/state). The potential or charge..."wants"/will discharge itself if it finds...can access a path to a positive or less negative charge. In a sense it seems to be seeking equilibrium...but, when I bring in magnetic fields (as I'm doing now) I tend to think about it in a cyclic fashion or concept/reality.
I was thinking about how Einstien became fascinated with Physics...because of a compass! These magnetic field lines point the compass's needle toward the N. magnetic pole of our planet. I would think that this extra energy (electricity) that REMAT develops has a lot to do with magnetic field lines...and energy of this sort. It seems to me that this is where our current generators are gathering their "free" electrons from anyway now. Folks seem to think they know it all. I admit I don't know it all...but, problems along these lines have fascinated me for many years.