Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
Lightning is a natural phenomenon, more specifically an atmospheric electrical phenomenon. It consists of electrostatic discharges occurring through the atmosphere between two electrically charged regions, either both existing within the atmosphere or one within the atmosphere and one on the ground, with these regions then becoming partially or wholly electrically neutralized.
Cloud-to-ground lightning. Typically, lightning discharges 30,000 amperes, at up to 100 million volts, and emits light, radio waves, x-rays and even gamma rays. [1] Plasma temperatures in lightning can approach 28,000 kelvins. Atmospheric electricity describes the electrical charges in the Earth's atmosphere (or that of another planet).
Distant lightning near Louisville, Kentucky. Heat lightning (not to be confused with dry thunderstorms, which are also often called dry lightning) is a misnomer [1] used for the faint flashes of lightning on the horizon or other clouds from distant thunderstorms that do not appear to have accompanying sounds of thunder. Heat lightning in Tokyo
Sheet lightning is cloud-to-cloud lightning that exhibits a diffuse brightening of the surface of a cloud, caused by the actual discharge path being hidden or too far away. The lightning itself cannot be seen by the spectator, so it appears as only a flash, or a sheet of light. The lightning may be too far away to discern individual flashes.
A less common type of strike, ground-to-cloud (GC) lightning, is upward-propagating lightning initiated from a tall grounded object and reaching into the clouds. About 25% of all lightning events worldwide are strikes between the atmosphere and earth-bound objects. Most are intracloud (IC) lightning and cloud-to-cloud (CC), where discharges ...
Not all lightning hits the ground; most of it stays within the clouds. When it does reach the ground, it travels at around 200,000 miles per hour. And for a brief moment, it heats the air around ...
Volcanic lightning is an electrical discharge triggered by a volcanic eruption, not a typical thunderstorm. ... sometimes occurring even without ice crystals in the cloud. Image credits: Terje ...
Direct damage caused by lightning strikes occurs on occasion. [56] In areas with a high frequency for cloud-to-ground lightning, like Florida, lightning causes several fatalities per year, most commonly to people working outside. [57] Acid rain is also a frequent risk produced by lightning. Distilled water has a neutral pH of 7.