Lightning (2024)

FAQs

What is lightning answers? ›

Lightning is a giant spark of electricity in the atmosphere between clouds, the air, or the ground. In the early stages of development, air acts as an insulator between the positive and negative charges in the cloud and between the cloud and the ground.

If you count the number of seconds between the flash of lightning and the sound of thunder, and then divide by 5, you'll get the distance in miles to the lightning: 5 seconds = 1 mile, 15 seconds = 3 miles, 0 seconds = very close.

When a charged cloud passes over an uncharged cloud, the uncharged cloud obtains an opposite charge. Later when two oppositely charged clouds come close to each other they attract and strongly combine to produce large amounts of heat, light and sound thus causing lightning.

To Native Indians, lightning is a symbol of honesty, truth and morality. In Chinese myth, lightning is a symbol of fertility. Certainly old Benjamin Franklin knew of the power of lightning. His experiments gave him the 'bright idea' that lightning was one-in-the-same as electricity.

Cloud-to-ground (CG) lightning comes from the sky down, but the part you see comes from the ground up. A typical cloud-to-ground flash lowers a path of negative electricity (that we cannot see) towards the ground in a series of spurts.

Fact: NO PLACE outside is safe when thunderstorms are in the area. If you are caught outside in a thunderstorm, keep moving toward a safe shelter.

Myth: If you are in a house, you are 100% safe from lightning. Fact: A house is a safe place to be during a thunderstorm as long as you avoid anything that conducts electricity. This means staying off corded phones, electrical appliances, wires, TV cables, computers, plumbing, metal doors and windows.

There is NO SAFE PLACE OUTSIDE. Follow these safety rules: Immediately move to safe shelter: a substantial building with electricity or plumbing or an enclosed, metal-topped vehicle with windows up. Stay in safe shelter at least 30 minutes after the last sound of thunder.

Note the time in seconds between the lightning flash and the thunderclap. Divide the number of seconds by 3. That's it!

Why can't you swim in lightning? ›

That is because lightning can travel many miles away from the edges of a storm. It can hit in areas unaffected by the rest of the storm. Additionally, water is a very good electrical conductor making it very dangerous during storms with lightning. Saltwater is an even better conductor than pool water.

Play It Safe

To stay safe, follow the golden rule-head for cover. "There is no place outside that is safe from lightning," Holle said firmly. "There are two safe places-inside a [permanent] building or a metal-topped vehicle."

Objects that are tall, or objects that are good for conducting electricity will attract lightning. Stay away from them. Inside your home, stay away from anything connected with wires or piping (TVs, lights, appliances, faucets, etc.).

Avoid showering, bathing, washing dishes, or doing laundry. Plumbing and bathroom fixtures can conduct electricity. Avoid contact with metal objects (yard equipment, motorcycles, bicycles, etc.). Stay inside until at least 30 minutes after you last hear thunder or see lightning.

These are distributed over Colombia and Venezuela. Lake Maracaibo is the region with the most lightning in the world, with 233 lightning strikes per km2 per year.

Lightning is a sudden electrostatic discharge that occurs typically during a thunderstorm. This discharge occurs between electrically charged regions of a cloud (called intra-cloud lightning or IC), between two clouds, or between a cloud and the ground.

It occurs when there is a buildup of electrical charge within a cloud and the ground, and the charge is suddenly released.

Lightning is an electrical discharge caused by imbalances between storm clouds and the ground, or within the clouds themselves. Most lightning occurs within the clouds. "Sheet lightning" describes a distant bolt that lights up an entire cloud base. Other visible bolts may appear as bead, ribbon, or rocket lightning.

Lightning is a gigantic electrical spark. A spark that can be 5 miles (8 kilometers) long. It would take up to 80 million car batteries to equal the power of one thunderbolt. A single lightning flash has enough energy to light a 100-watt bulb for three months!