What is the scientific reason for thunder and lightning?
A single stroke of lightning can heat the air around it to 30,000°C (54,000°F)! This extreme heating causes the air to expand explosively fast. The expansion creates a shock wave that turns into a booming sound wave, known as thunder.
How does lightning happen science?
Lighter, positively charged particles form at the top of the cloud. 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.
How does thunder work science?
The lightning flash heats the air around it so quickly that the air expands very fast. When you heat something, it gets bigger – it expands. The air around the lightning flash expands so fast that it makes a shock wave in the air. That shock wave is the thunder that you hear.
What causes thunder in physics?
Answer. Thunder is caused by the rapid expansion of the air surrounding the path of a lightning bolt.
Is lightning a chemical reaction?
While lightning, in and of itself, is not a chemical reaction, its energy does facilitate multiple reactions that create products, such like ozone O3 and nitrogen oxides NOx.
How does lightning occur simple explanation?
How does lightning work? – YouTube
What is the science of lightning called?
fulminology
The science of lightning is called fulminology.
How do thunderstorms form?
Thunderstorms form when warm, moist air rises into cold air. The warm air becomes cooler, which causes moisture, called water vapor, to form small water droplets — a process called condensation. The cooled air drops lower in the atmosphere, warms, and rises again.
What conditions create lightning?
In the summer, thunderstorms typically develop in the afternoon when the sun heats air near the ground. If the atmosphere is unstable, bubbles of warm air will rise and produce clouds, precipitation, and eventually lightning.
Is lightning a physical change?
Lightning is a chemical change. This is because, energy (a new substance) is produced during lightning.
How does a lightning form in chemistry?
Lightning is cause by an imbalance between positive and negative charges. Ice crystals in clouds causes a negative charge, stuff on ground has a positive charge these charges build up until the discharge occurs.
How is lightning formed facts for kids?
Lightning is caused by an electrical charge in the atmosphere that is unbalanced. The movement of rain and ice inside a thundercloud creates an electrical charge, with the negative charge (electrons) forming at the bottom of the cloud and the positive charge (protons) forming at the top.
Is lightning a matter or energy?
Lightning is a naturally occurring electrostatic discharge during which two electrically charged regions, both in the atmosphere or with one on the ground, temporarily neutralize themselves, causing the instantaneous release of an average of one gigajoule of energy.
What is thunderstorm short answer?
thunderstorm, a violent short-lived weather disturbance that is almost always associated with lightning, thunder, dense clouds, heavy rain or hail, and strong gusty winds. Thunderstorms arise when layers of warm, moist air rise in a large, swift updraft to cooler regions of the atmosphere.
Is it safe to take a bath during a thunderstorm?
No. Lightning can travel through plumbing. It is best to avoid all water during a thunderstorm. Do not shower, bathe, wash dishes, or wash your hands.
How hot is a lightning?
In fact, lightning can heat the air it passes through to 50,000 degrees Fahrenheit (5 times hotter than the surface of the sun).
What element causes lightning?
chemistry. Lightning discharges are a major source of nitrogen oxide gases called NOx. The two primary gases (NO and NO2) are formed during the lightning discharge when the air is heated to 30,000 degrees inside the lightning channel.
What is lightning made of?
Lightning is an electric current. Within a thundercloud way up in the sky, many small bits of ice (frozen raindrops) bump into each other as they move around in the air. All of those collisions create an electric charge. After a while, the whole cloud fills up with electrical charges.
What are 3 facts about thunder?
The sound of thunder can be anything from a loud crack to a low rumble. Light travels faster than sound so we see lightning before we hear thunder. The closer you are, the shorter the gap between the lightning and thunder. The speed of sound is around 767 miles per hour (1,230 kilometres per hour).
What are 3 facts about lightning?
10 striking facts about lightning
- The speed of lightning.
- When lightning strikes a beach.
- The most lightning-struck location in the world.
- Helicopters cause lightning.
- 1,400,000,000 strikes every year.
- Lightning destroys trees.
- But it can help plants grow.
- The width of a thumb and hotter than the sun.
What color is lightning?
The distinctive blue-white color of lightning is caused by light emitted as the electrons drop back to their original energy states. Seen from above, lightning storms also produce less well-known emissions of blue or red light above the clouds, known as jets and sprites.
What energy is in lightning?
The average lightning strike contains about 1 million joules, enough energy to fry the founding father in his boots. “The typical house in the U.S. has 100 amp service or about 28 horsepower,” says Kirtley.
Is thunder good for the Earth?
As the thunderstorm progresses, eventually the rain cools the entire process down and the energy is gone. Thunderstorms also help keep the Earth in electrical balance. The Earth’s surface and the atmosphere conduct electricity easily – the Earth is charged negatively and the atmosphere, positively.
Where do thunderstorms happen?
Thunderstorms are most frequent in the Southeast U.S., especially along the Gulf Coast from Louisiana to Florida. Thunderstorms are also fairly frequent in the rest of the Southeast U.S. into the Great Plains of the U.S. (more than 50 days per year, on average, with thunderstorms).
Can I charge my phone during a thunderstorm?
While it is safe to use a cellphone (if it’s not plugged into a wall charger, that is) during a thunderstorm, it is not safe to use your landline. Lightning can travel through the phone lines—and if it does, you could be electrocuted.