Why does lightning accompany thunder? Detailed answer

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Why does lightning accompany thunder? Detailed answer

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Why does lightning accompany thunder?

Lightning and thunder were probably the first natural phenomena that frightened and fascinated primitive people. When they watched the zigzags of lightning and heard the thunderclaps, they believed that this was the wrath of the gods, one of the ways to punish primitive man.

In order to understand what thunder and lightning really are, let's remember what we know about electricity. We know that some things are electrically charged, positively or negatively. The positive charge is attracted by the negative.

The magnitude of the charge increases - the force of attraction increases.

There comes a point when the forces holding them apart become too weak. Any resistance that holds them back, such as air, glass, or other insulator, is overcome, or "breaks through". A discharge occurs - and the electric charges of the two bodies become equal.

The same thing happens with lightning. A cloud containing a myriad of water droplets can carry an electric charge opposite to that of another cloud or the Earth. When the electrical voltage between them is able to overcome the air insulation, a lightning discharge occurs. The electric discharge moves along the path of least resistance. This is why lightning is often in a zigzag pattern.

The electrical conductivity of air depends on its temperature, density and humidity. Dry air is a good insulator; moist air conducts electricity. This is why lightning often stops when it rains. Moist air becomes a conductor through which electric charges move silently and imperceptibly.

And what about thunder? In an electrical discharge, air rapidly expands and then contracts. During expansion and contraction, the air flows rapidly. We hear sharp contacts of such air currents like thunder. And distant peals of thunder occur because sound waves are reflected from one cloud to another.

Since the speed of light is 299 km/sec, and the speed of sound in air is about 795 m/sec, we always see a flash of lightning first and then hear thunder.

Author: Likum A.

Random interesting fact from the Great Encyclopedia:

Why don't we notice the rotation of the earth?

For a long time, people believed that the Earth was flat as a pancake and was supported by three whales (or three elephants). With the development of science, people's ideas about the Earth have changed. Although we know today that the Earth is moving, it is impossible for a person to notice this, being on its surface. It rotates with it and is too small compared to the huge globe.

We do not notice the rotation of the Earth, but we observe and feel its consequences - the change of day and night. If the Earth did not rotate, then on the side that faces the light, there would always be day, and the opposite side would always be in darkness. But it's good that this doesn't happen. Each point of the Earth is first on the illuminated side, then on the dark side. After 24 hours, everything repeats, since the period of the daily movement of the Earth is 24 hours.

We also do not notice the movement of the Earth around the Sun, but we cannot but see and feel the change of seasons. The Earth revolves around the Sun in 365,25 days. This period of time is called a year.

And together with the Sun and other planets, the Earth moves relative to the Milky Way. The Milky Way moves relative to other galaxies. There is nothing stationary in the universe.

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