Lightning and Thunderstorms: An Overview of The Science and Lack of Safety

Lightning is a magnificent element in nature that often remains a mystery to many people throughout life. However, where does lightning come from?

Lightning--simply put--is electrical activity in clouds. A flame of lightning is a stream of electrified water passing from the clouds to the ground; from the ground back up into the sky; or from cloud to cloud.

Lightning is dangerous. It is known to strike high pointy structures. These types of things can occur naturally like hills and trees. However, lightning can also strike the tops of pointed buildings and the masts of ships.

What creates thunder? Thunder goes right along with lightning during a thunder storm. The sound of thunder comes from a reaction to the sudden presence of electrical matter that is collected in the air during a thunder storm. Vibrations are created which create the sound you hear.

Thunder storms are highly electrified environments. However, what's electricity? Electricity is something that is present throughout all the earth and is present in all matter. It often does not give any indication of its presence when it's not active. However, when an electrical presence becomes charged; it can be dangerous and detrimental to its surroundings. Electricity is very elastic, changeable and adaptable. It can move through any form of matter. It passes more easily through matter such as metal, water and living things like animals and humans. These things are called conductors. Air, glass and fabrics are usually not the best conductors. Electricity can still move through them though somewhat.

Many people believe that clouds are only formed because of electricity. When something is not protected by a non-conductor, electricity will move quickly through it to the earth.

Electricity is more present in certain parts of a body of matter. Electricity is often present on the outside surfaces. The inside substance is usually more neutral. The heat created by an electric shock is very strong, but it is only accompanied by a streak of light when fluid gets in the way of the electrical charge's presence.

So what causes electricity in the atmosphere. Electricity is created by the mechanical and aggressive activity of the condensation of vapor. It's almost like starting a fire in terms of friction and activity.

Condensation is the method of making a mass or material dense by bringing its parts closer together. The word electricity comes from the word amber in Greek. Amber is considered a semi-precious stone. Amber is golden and somewhat transparent. It is very much like a resin and occurs naturally in many parts of the earth.

Lightning is the vivid jolt of electricity created by a thunderstorm. The only reason it is visual is because of the presnece of water. All thunderstorms are accompanied by a little lightning. Sometimes you can't see it, but it's there. This makes thunderstorms inherently dangerous. Whenever you hear a thunderstorm coming; it is best to get to a safe place because lightning is not far behind.

Lightning has been known to kill and often injure more people each year then other natural disasters. Each year it is estimated that 75 to 100 people are harmed in some way by lightning. Within a cloud, there are usually a lot of pieces of ice that were created by condensation. These frozen rain particles bump each other and move around in the sky. These collisions create a plethora of mini-electrical charges. In a little bit of time the cloud will fill up with electricity. There are positive and negative charges within the cloud at this point. Positive charges are called protons, whereas the negative charged ions are called electrons. The protons gather at the top of the cloud and the electrons fall to the bottom.
Opposite charges are attracted to one another. This forces a positive charge to build up on the earth under the cloud. The electrical charge focused on the ground gathers around objects that point up to the sky like mountains, trees, people and peaks.

This charge collected on the ground will inevitably connect with the negative charge accumulated at the bottom of the cloud. Combined with the falling moisture in the sky, lightning is created. If you have experienced rubbing your foot on the floor and touching a piece of metal or another human, then you have probably experienced an electrical charge. This charge comes as a little shock.

This is how lightning is created as well when you consider it. It is just on a larger scale; when you consider that the lightning moving around in the sky and striking the earth is usually about 54,000 degrees Fahrenheit. This is in reality 6 times more intense than the heat on the surface of the sun.

Lightning actually has no real color. It is very dependent on the color of its background. However, more often then not; it appears to be a pale white or a bright yellow color. Thunder is then created by the lightning. When the lightning moves to the earth from up in the cloud it creates an air channel around itself. Once the lightning has finished its journey; the air falls back into itself creating a sound that we recognize to be thunder.

We see lightning well before we hear the sound of thunder many times and some may even have thought that the two are not connected. This is not true at all. It's simply that light travels much faster then sound and the lightning will appear and be finished seemingly long before the thunder. However, this is not the case at all. The best way to know if lightning is nearby if you don't see it is to assume it is if you hear thunder. When you hear thunder it's best to just move indoors or at worst get in a car. Any one outside especially in clear flat places is in danger of being struck by lightning. If you are outside and hair starts to prickle and your skin begins to tickle; it is quite probable that lightning is about to strike. If there is no other option then just get on your hands and knees and tuck your head under. If you lay down it will give the lightning a better chance to strike.

Ball lightning is a form of lightning that many people aren't familiar with. It's pretty rare and many people go a lifetime without every hearing of it. It appears in a crimson, shining ball most often but has been documented to come in other colors. Ball lightning comes in the form of a globe as the name suggests and usually has a diameter of about 12 inches. Ball lightning usually makes a hissing sound and makes a loud terrifying sound when it explodes

Bibliography:

Graf, Mike "Weather Channel Lightning And Thunderstorms," Simon Spotlight; 1st edition (August 1, 1998)

Renner, Jeff "Lightning Strikes: Staying Safe Under Stormy Skies," Mountaineers Books; 1st edition (April 2002)

Potter, Thomas D. and Colman, Bradley R. "The Handbook of Weather, Climate and Water: Dynamics, Climate, Physical Meteorology, Weather Systems, and Measurements," Wiley-Interscience (August 8, 2003)