What is the light in lightning?
Lightning is visible as a flash of blue-white light. The extremely high temperatures generated heat the air molecules to a state of incandescence (white hot) such that they emit a vivid white light.
Where does the light from lightning come from?
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.
Why do lightning bolts produce light?
Heavier, negatively charged particles sink to the bottom of the cloud. When the positive and negative charges grow large enough, a giant spark – lightning – occurs between the two charges within the cloud. This is like a static electricity sparks you see, but much bigger.
Does lightning give light?
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.
Is lightning a plasma or electricity?
Lightning strikes create plasma via a very strong jolt of electricity. Most of the Sun, and other stars, is in a plasma state. Certain regions of Earth’s atmosphere contain some plasma created primarily by ultraviolet radiation from the Sun.
How many watts is a lightning bolt?
A typical lightning flash is about 300 million Volts and about 30,000 Amps. In comparison, household current is 120 Volts and 15 Amps. There is enough energy in a typical flash of lightning to light a 100-watt incandescent light bulb for about three months or the equivalent compact fluorescent bulb for about a year.
What is the rarest color of lightning?
Yellow – while this color of lightning is uncommon, it can be caused when there is a high concentration of dust in the air. It can also be an indication of a dry thunderstorm with low levels of precipitation.
What was the worst lightning storm in history?
The Luxembourg disaster may have been the most deadly lightning strike in history. The earth experiences 8 to 9 million lightning strikes every single day.
What are facts about lightning?
Facts about Lightning. Lightning is an electrical discharge between a high amount of electrons at the bottom of a cloud and their resulting attraction of protons in objects in the ground.
What are the causes and effects of lightning?
Lightning kills because it is a high electric current. Lightning can also shock and burns people. The lightning’s heat that it makes can damage the lungs, brain and vital organs. Lightning causes burns and shocks but people usually recover completely.
Why does Lightning seek the “ground”?
Lightning can ” jump around ” when it strikes. This “jumping” is associated with the electrical potential of the strike target with respect to the earth’s potential. The lightning can strike and then “seek” a path of least resistance by jumping around to nearby objects that provide a better path to ground.
Why does lightning strike from the ground-up?
The answer is both. Cloud-to-ground 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. Objects on the ground generally have a positive charge.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rbB8i9AKq3g