Lightning
hideLightning is an atmospheric discharge of electricity accompanied by thunder, which typically occurs during thunderstorms, and sometimes during volcanic eruptions or dust storms. In the atmospheric electrical discharge, a leader of a bolt of lightning can travel at speeds of 60,000 m/s (130,000 mph), and can reach temperatures approaching 30,000 °C (54,000 °F), hot enough to fuse silica sand into glass channels known as fulgurites which are normally hollow and can extend some distance into the ground. There are some 16 million lightning storms in the world every year.
Lightning can also occur within the ash clouds from volcanic eruptions, or can be caused by violent forest fires which generate sufficient dust to create a static charge.
How lightning initially forms is still a matter of debate: Scientists have studied root causes ranging from atmospheric perturbations (wind, humidity, friction, and atmospheric pressure) to the impact of solar wind and accumulation of charged solar particles. Ice inside a cloud is thought to be a key element in lightning development, and may cause a forcible separation of positive and negative charges within the cloud, thus assisting in the formation of lightning.
For more information about Lightning, read the full article at
Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.
News tagged with lightning
Lightning-produced radiation a potential health concern for air travelers
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Dec 07, 2009 |
3.8 / 5 (9) |
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New information about lightning-emitted X-rays, gamma rays and high-energy electrons during thunderstorms is prompting scientists to raise concerns about the potential for airline passengers and crews to be ...
Venezuela turns to cloud-seeding to battle drought
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Nov 29, 2009 |
not rated yet |
1
(AP) -- Hugo Chavez says he is starting to "bombard" clouds now that Cuba has provided Venezuela with cloud-seeding help in an effort to produce rain and alleviate the effects of a severe drought.
A lightning strike in Africa helps take the pulse of the sun
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Nov 11, 2009 |
4.5 / 5 (11) |
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Sunspots, which rotate around the sun's surface, tell us a great deal about our own planet. Scientists rely on them, for instance, to measure the sun's rotation or to prepare long-range forecasts of the Earth's ...
Search results for lightning
Australia issues 'catastrophic' alerts as fires rage
Nov 21, 2009 |
4 / 5 (3) |
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Australia has issued "catastrophic" alerts after record-breaking temperatures and wild lightning storms sparked more than 100 fires across the country, officials said Saturday.
Britain's Royal Society puts rare scientific manuscripts online
Nov 30, 2009 |
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Historic manuscripts by Sir Isaac Newton, Benjamin Franklin and other ground-breaking scientists will be published online for the first time, Britain's Royal Society said Monday.
German researchers demonstrate diesel truck engine with barely measurable emissions
Dec 07, 2009 |
3.8 / 5 (6) |
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Just three months after the Euro 5 Norm for exhaust emissions went into force for all new car models, researchers at the Technische Universitaet Muenchen (TUM, Germany) have demonstrated an engine that is ...
Crashing the size barrier
Nov 18, 2009 |
4.5 / 5 (15) |
6
Like surfers on monster waves, electrons can ride waves of plasma to very high energies in a very short distance. Scientists have proven that plasma acceleration works. Now they're developing it as a way to ...
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