Thunder and LightningThunder and Lightning

By Mir Tamim-KarimBy Mir Tamim-Karim

HR: 226HR: 226

Section: EmeraldSection: Emerald

What’s Thunder and Lightning?What’s Thunder and Lightning?

• You see lightning sometimes during rainstorms. But what is it really? It’s an atmospheric discharge of electricity. It tries to strike the earth as fast as possible (That's why you should keep away from trees in a thunderstorm.).

• Thunder is actually the shockwave, the sound, made after lightning strikes.

How does lightning occur?How does lightning occur?

• I don’t know… But nor do many scientists! There have been many theories of how it’s believed to have come. Here are some:

• Polarization Mechanism Theory: As Ice falls through the earth’s atmosphere, they become electrically polarized.

• Electrostatic Induction Theory: 2 opposing charges get separated. The electricity gets stored in the middle of a cumulonimbus cloud. There, the electricity collides with the rain.

• The Discharge Theory: Electricity is made when there’s enough positive and negative energy together.

• There are still other beliefs.

Types of Lightning…Types of Lightning…

• Intracloud lightning: Lightning happening inside a cloud.

• Cloud-to-Ground Lightning: Lightning that hits the earth from a cloud.

• Bead lightning: A brighter version of Cloud-to-Ground Lightning.

• Cloud-to-Cloud Lightning: Lightning that goes from one cloud to another (RARE).

• Ball Lightning: Lightning that comes in the shape of a ball in a thunderstorm.

How bad is lightning?How bad is lightning?

• The air in the core of a lightning bolt can be as hot as 54,000° F.

• Lightning could directly hit (and most likely) kill someone, it could hit something near the person and splash back to you, hit the ground near you (hurting or killing you), or have a pulse sent to you from close strikes.

How often does lightning strike?How often does lightning strike?

• Lightning can happen 3 billion times a year. It strikes the earth 50 to 100 times per second! Lightning Strikes the US 25 to 30 million times per year. It usually attacks Florida (Between Orlando and St. Petersburg is Lightning Alley.).

Famous People Lightning has Famous People Lightning has KilledKilled

• Jim Caviezel (Played Jesus in “Passion of the Christ”), and the assistant director of the movie, Jan Michelini.

• Retief Goosen and Lee Trevino (Golfers)

• Roy Sullivan was a man known for getting struck by lightning more than anyone else (SEVEN TIMES!).

What about Thunder?What about Thunder?

• There are also many theories about thunder. We believe now the when lightning comes, it creates a vacuum and while going down, it creates the sound of thunder. There are other theories but this is most believed.

• You cannot have thunder without lightning.• Thunder is extremely loud, and too much of it

can cause hearing loss.• Lightning travels faster than thunder since light

is faster than sound.

Fun FactsFun Facts

• Lightning can strike the same place more than once like the Empire state Building which was once struck by lightning 15 times in 15 minutes.

• A car is a very safe place to save you from lightning.• Lightning tries to reach earth the fastest way it could.• The chances of getting killed by lightning is actually low.

The chances of getting struck are 1 to 400,000 in a year. 75 to150 people are reported killed in the US by lightning.

• Lightning can strike ten or even more miles away from a cloud (“A bolt from the blue”).

BibliographyBibliography

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lightning

• http://realwindowgallery.blogspot.com/2005_04_20_realwindowgallery_archive.html

• http://sky-fire.tv/index.cgi/lightning.html