The Cause Of Lightning

Lightning has been a mystery since early times. People of ancient civilizations believe angry gods threw lightning bolts from the sky. Nobody understood that lightning resulted from electricity until Ben Franklin flew a kite with a key dangling from the string, and it was struck by lightning.

In current times, it is known that lighting has a very scientific cause Generally, within a storm cloud, friction from water and ice-laden clouds creates a negative charge at the bottom of the cloud. When that charge grows too great for the air to hold it back, it is united with a positive charge from the Earth, creating a channel of electricity that flows between the two points. The charge remains invisible as it moves towards the ground until it meets the charge rising from the ground. Once they meet, a fifty thousand degree current superheats the air around the channel, resulting in an explosion of sound known as thunder. In fact, very recently it has been discovered that occasionally the positive charges appear at the bottom of the cloud, which are them met by negative charges from earth.

Generally, people are injured by lightning when they are in the open, near or in water, or near tall structures like trees. Golfers, swimmers, beach-goers, and outdoor workers are in greatest danger. The greatest number of victims are males, but it is believed that this is because males are more likely to be in the places where lightning strikes. When lightening is about to strike, one feels an odd, tingling sensation, and one’s hair stands on end. Of course, there is little change to do anything about it, because the full blow will occur within a second and be over in a couple of seconds. The victim may be thrown, lose consciousness, be burned, die, or suffer permanent injury. Some people recover completely, but others do not.