system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
Can electrical breakdown, such as lightning or electric arc, be considered as quantum tunneling effect?
gpt
No arcing is cause by the potential (voltage) increasing to the point that the permittivity of air can no longer insulate it.  Once the arc is struck the air around the arc is physically different.  Quantum tunneling has a signature aspect of negative resistance.  Voltage increases and current actually drops.