Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
Lightning is a natural phenomenon formed by electrostatic discharges through the atmosphere between two electrically charged regions, either both in the atmosphere or one in the atmosphere and one on the ground, temporarily neutralizing these in a near-instantaneous release of an average of between 200 megajoules and 7 gigajoules of energy, depending on the type.
Thunder is the sound caused by lightning. [1] [2] [3] Depending upon the distance from and nature of the lightning, it can range from a long, low rumble to a sudden, loud crack. The sudden increase in temperature and hence pressure caused by the lightning produces rapid expansion of the air in the path of a lightning bolt. [4]
A thunderbolt or lightning bolt is a symbolic representation of lightning when accompanied by a loud thunderclap. In Indo-European mythology, the thunderbolt was identified with the 'Sky Father' ; this association is also found in later Hellenic representations of Zeus and Vedic descriptions of the vajra wielded by the god Indra .
A return stroke, cloud-to-ground lightning strike during a thunderstorm. Cloud-to-ground lightning frequently occurs within the phenomena of thunderstorms and have numerous hazards towards landscapes and populations. One of the more significant hazards lightning can pose is the wildfires they are capable of igniting. [54]
A lightning strike or lightning bolt is a lightning event in which the electric discharge takes place between the atmosphere and the ground. Most originate in a cumulonimbus cloud and terminate on the ground, called cloud-to-ground (CG) lightning.
The name of his weapon, *mel-d-(n)-, which denoted both "lightning" and "hammer", can be reconstructed from the attested traditions. *Perkʷūnos was often associated with oaks , probably because such tall trees are frequently struck by lightning , and his realm was located in the wooded mountains, *Perkʷūnyós .
Philostratus the Elder (3rd century BCE Greek rhetorician), in Imagines 1.14, gave this description: [1] "[From a description of an ancient Greek painting depicting the death of Semele] Bronte (Thunder), stern of face, and Astrape (Lightning), flashing light from her eyes, and raging fire from heaven that has laid hold of a king’s house ...
The Scottish Gaelic word beithir has been defined variously as "serpent", "lightning", and "thunderbolt". [1] [2] [3] It is also referred to as beithir-nimh ("venomous serpent") [4] and nathair ("serpent" and "adder"). [5] The word may also mean "wild beast" and may be derived from the Norse for "bear" according to Celtic mythology scholar ...