#Thunder and lightning how to

At present, we are unable to harness and store the energy contained within lightning bolts. This is what makes lightning strikes so dangerous. They carry energy measuring several hundred billion watts. They don't just heat the air to extreme temperatures, they also transport massive amounts of energy. Lightning bolts are the hottest things on earth. Depending on the circumstances, it might be red, blue or yellow. The color depends on atmospheric humidity, temperature and levels of air pollution. Lightning bolts come in many different colors. It expands and explodes, producing a loud crack. While this is happening, the surrounding air is heated to extreme temperatures.

So powerful, in fact, that it results in an electrical arc. When the invisible lightning bolt gets close enough to the ground, there is a powerful discharge of energy. At the same time, an excess of positively charged particles builds up on the ground, seen here in green. At first, there is a bolt which is invisible to our eyes. That means that charged particles will always flow in the direction where there are less particles of the same charge. Nature, though, is always striving to balance out these differences in electrical charges. On the ground, too, there are differences in electrical charges. Within the cloud, two poles form, each with a different electrical charge. As these ice particles fall back down they make contact with water droplets lower down in the cloud and this results in a charge separation. Thunderstorms are caused by small electrically-charged particles. As early as 1752, Benjamin Franklin discovered that lightning was caused by powerful electrical discharges in the clouds. Thunder and lightning are natural phenomena and have nothing at all to do with Zeus, as the ancient Greeks thought. We've all experienced a slight feeling of unease at an approaching storm, yet at the same time we're fascinated by one of nature's most impressive displays. For the most part, thunderstorms occur during the warmer seasons.

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#Thunder and lightning how to

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