Definition of lightning (Entry 1 of 3) 1 : the flashing of light produced by a discharge of atmospheric electricity also : the discharge itself
What do you mean by lightning?
1 : the flashing of light produced by a discharge of atmospheric electricity also : the discharge itself.
What is the color of lightning?
Upon striking an object or the ground, the lightning is usually red or orange color. The most common color is white, but lightning bolts can also appear blue, yellow, violet, and even green. Different colors of lightning offer information about the thunderstorm and weather conditions.
What is the sound of lightning called?
Understanding Lightning: Thunder. Thunder is the sound caused by a nearby flash of lightning and can be heard for a distance of only about 10 miles from the lightning strike. The sound of thunder should serve as a warning to anyone outside that they are within striking distance of the storm and need to get to a safe place immediately!
What is an idiomatic expression derived from lightning?
Idiomatic expressions derived from lightning, such as the English expression "bolt from the blue", are common across languages. The fear of lightning is called astraphobia .
What is the denotation of thunder?
Definition of thunder (Entry 1 of 2) 1 : the sound that follows a flash of lightning and is caused by sudden expansion of the air in the path of the electrical discharge. 2 : bang, rumble the thunder of big guns. 3 : a loud utterance or threat.
What's another word for lightning?
In this page you can discover 26 synonyms, antonyms, idiomatic expressions, and related words for lightning, like: thunderstroke, levin, thunderbolt, electrical discharge, bolt, thunderlight, thunderball, lightning flash, streak of lightning, fulgurous and firebolt.
What type of word is lightning?
Lightning can be a noun, verb, or adjective that refers to the bright flashes of electricity during stormy weather. Pronounce this word with two syllables. Lightening is the progressive form of the verb to lighten. This means to become lighter in either weight or color.
Is lightning a real word?
a brilliant electric spark discharge in the atmosphere, occurring within a thundercloud, between clouds, or between a cloud and the ground. verb (used without object), light·ninged, light·ning.
What is the antonym of lightning?
What is the opposite of lightning?slowleisurelylethargiclistlesstorpiddrowsyinactiveloiteringindolentinert28 more rows
What words describe lightning?
Adjective Words to Describe Lightningblack lightningominousvindictivegreasedsped lightningterribleharmlessspiritualtonguedimprisonedstormfultremendousinwardstreakedmildest12 more rows
How do you write lightning?
Lightening is the present participle of the verb lighten. Lightning is the electrical discharge that happens during storms.
What is lightning Class 8?
Lightning is an electric discharge in the atmosphere between oppositely charged clouds (or between charged cloud and the earth). Lightning is produced by the electric charges in the sky. A cloud is a visible mass of condensed water vapours floating in the atmosphere, high above the ground.
What is meaning of thunder and lightning?
Definition of thunder-and-lightning of apparel. : of strongly contrasting colors : of a startling color.
What is lightning Class 9?
Lightning is one of the most beautiful displays we can see in our nature which can certainly be deadly at times. It is a sudden electrostatic discharge between the electrically charged regions of the cloud.
Can I say thundering?
You can use It is thundering, but the verb to describe the accompanying flashes is lighten, so you say It is thundering and lightening. This use of lighten is well attested in the Oxford English Dictionary, but it isn't all that common.
Why is it spelled lightning?
Back then, in Middle English, spelling was different from our Modern English spelling. Lightning was spelled with a y and a letter we don't even use today called a yogh that kind of looks like the number 3 and was eventually replaced with our current letters gh.
How does lightning strike?
When it gets less than roughly a hundred yards of the ground, objects like trees and bushes and buildings start sending up sparks to meet it. When one of the sparks connects the downward developing channel, a huge electric current surges rapidly down the channel to the object that produced the spark. Tall objects such as trees and skyscrapers are more likely than the surrounding ground to produce one of the connecting sparks and so are more likely to be struck by lightning. Mountains also make good targets. However, this does not always mean tall objects will be struck. Lightning can strike the ground in an open field even if the tree line is close by.
Which objects are more likely to be struck by lightning?
Tall objects such as trees and skyscrapers are more likely than the surrounding ground to produce one of the connecting sparks and so are more likely to be struck by lightning. Mountains also make good targets. However, this does not always mean tall objects will be struck.
What do NSSL researchers use to investigate the full life cycle of thunderstorms?
What we do: NSSL researchers use a 3-D cloud model to investigate the full life-cycle of thunderstorms. The model has shown how graupel or other droplets could help form regions of lower charge within the storm.
How to tell if lightning is coming from the ground?
As you continue to listen, you'll hear the sound created from the portions of the channel farther and farther away. Typically, a sharp crack or click will indicate that the lightning channel passed nearby. If the thunder sounds more like a rumble, the lightning was at least several miles away. The loud boom that you sometimes hear is created by the main lightning channel as it reaches the ground.
How hot is lightning?
The temperature of the air in the lightning channel may reach as high as 50,000 degrees Fahrenheit, 5 times hotter than the surface of the sun. Immediately after the flash, the air cools and contracts quickly.
Why does thunder sound?
The sound of thunder should serve as a warning to anyone outside that they are within striking distance of the storm and need to get to a safe place immediately! Thunder is created when lightning passes through the air. The lightning discharge heats the air rapidly and causes it to expand.
What does a crack in thunder sound like?
Typically, a sharp crack or click will indicate that the lightning channel passed nearby. If the thunder sounds more like a rumble, the lightning was at least several miles away. The loud boom that you sometimes hear is created by the main lightning channel as it reaches the ground.
What is lightning discharge?
Email. Lightning is an electrical discharge caused by imbalances between storm clouds and the ground, or within the clouds themselves. Most lightning occurs within the clouds. "Sheet lightning" describes a distant bolt that lights up an entire cloud base.
What type of lightning is a small sphere that bounces around oblivious to the laws of gravity?
Other rare forms can be sparked by extreme forest fires, volcanic eruptions, and snowstorms. Ball lightning, a small, charged sphere that floats, glows, and bounces along oblivious to the laws of gravity or physics, still puzzles scientists.
How many people survive lightning strikes?
Strikes can cause cardiac arrest and severe burns, but 9 of every 10 people survive. The average American has about a 1 in 5,000 chance of being struck by lightning during a lifetime. Lightning's extreme heat will vaporize the water inside a tree, creating steam that may blow the tree apart.
How many people die from lightning each year?
About 2,000 people are killed worldwide by lightning each year. Hundreds more survive strikes but suffer from a variety of lasting symptoms, including memory loss, dizziness, weakness, numbness, and other life-altering ailments. Strikes can cause cardiac arrest and severe burns, but 9 of every 10 people survive.
How far can lightning strike out of the blue?
Positive lightning can stretch across the sky and strike "out of the blue" more than 10 miles from the storm cloud where it was born.
How many volts does a lightning bolt have?
Each bolt can contain up to one billion volts of electricity. A typical cloud-to-ground lightning bolt begins when a step-like series of negative charges, called a stepped leader, races downward from the bottom of a storm cloud toward the Earth along a channel at about 200,000 mph (300,000 kph).
Why does lightning sound like thunder?
Lightning is extremely hot—a flash can heat the air around it to temperatures five times hotter than the sun’s surface. This heat causes surrounding air to rapidly expand and vibrate, which creates the pealing thunder we hear a short time after seeing a lightning flash.
Where does lightning originate?
Cloud-to-ground (CG) lightning primarily originates in the thundercloud and terminates on an Earth surface, but may also occur in the reverse direction, that is ground to cloud.
Where does lightning occur?
The place on Earth where lightning occurs most often is near the small village of Kifuka in the mountains of the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, where the elevation is around 975 m (3,200 ft). On average, this region receives 158 lightning strikes per square kilometre per year (410/sq mi/yr).
What is lightning in a cyclone?
v. t. e. Lightning is a naturally occurring electrostatic discharge during which two electrically charged regions, both in the atmosphere or with one on the ground, temporarily equalize themselves, causing the instantaneous release of as much as one gigajoule of energy.
Why does lightning make a sound?
Because the electrostatic discharge of terrestrial lightning superheats the air to plasma temperatures along the length of the discharge channel in a short duration, kinetic theory dictates gaseous molecules undergo a rapid increase in pressure and thus expand outward from the lightning creating a shock wave audible as thunder. Since the sound waves propagate not from a single point source but along the length of the lightning's path, the sound origin's varying distances from the observer can generate a rolling or rumbling effect. Perception of the sonic characteristics is further complicated by factors such as the irregular and possibly branching geometry of the lightning channel, by acoustic echoing from terrain, and by the usually multiple-stroke characteristic of the lightning strike.
How many times does lightning happen per second?
On Earth, the lightning frequency is approximately 44 (± 5) times per second, or nearly 1.4 billion flashes per year and the average duration is 0.2 seconds made up from a number of much shorter flashes (strokes) of around 60 to 70 microseconds.
What are the factors that affect the frequency, distribution, strength, and physical properties of a lightning flash?
These factors include ground elevation, latitude, prevailing wind currents, relative humidity, and proximity to warm and cold bodies of water.
How far away is lightning from the center of a hurricane?
Hurricanes typically generate some lightning, mainly in the rainbands as much as 160 km (99 mi) from the center. The science of lightning is called fulminology, and the fear of lightning is called astraphobia .
What color is lightning?
Upon striking an object or the ground, the lightning is usually red or orange color. The most common color is white, but lightning bolts can also appear blue, yellow, violet, and even green. Different colors of lightning offer information about the thunderstorm and weather conditions.
What determines the color of lightning?
The atmosphere is a major factor in determining the color of the lightning, as well as the environment and temperature. The higher the temperature (it can get as hot as 50,000 degrees Fahrenheit), the closer it is to the end of the color spectrum.
Why do lightning bolts scatter?
It is because the rays of the lightning can scatter while traveling due to the dust particles in the air, as well as the air's composition , and change how the lightning bolts appear to the observer.
How many lightning bolts per second are there in the world?
While you are reading this article, there are more than 2000 thunderstorms (and each one if producing around 200 lightning bolts per second) happening in the world.
Why is blue lightning dangerous?
Because the blue lightning can travel fast and strike at any time, it is considered to be the most dangerous. Lightning can kill, and it can leave tremendous consequences on the body, such as heart failure, burns, and seizures. Antonia Čirjak July 15 2020 in Answer. Home.
Does lightning hit the same spot twice?
Contrary to popular belief, lightning does hit the same spot twice, and it also comes in a variety of colors. The appearance of lightning depends on the conditions of the atmosphere (dust, moisture, haze, and other), and because of it, it can appear in various colors. Upon striking an object or the ground, the lightning is usually red ...
Is lightning dangerous in the same degree?
Other than being a wonderful display of the beauty of nature, different colors of lightning also offer information about the thunderstorm and weather conditions. All the types of lightning are considered dangerous but not in the same degree. For example, the most common color is white, but it is also the hottest, ...
What does lightning sound like?
Thunder from such lightning is very loud and may sound like a series of deep, low-frequency sonic booms.
What is lightning discharge?
A beautiful and deadly natural phenomenon, lightning is simply a sudden, electrostatic discharge - a ‘spark’ or ‘flash’ as charged regions in the atmosphere temporarily equalise themselves through this dis charge. It is the polarity of lightning discharge that can affect the way it spreads and branches in space and time. It is this, as well as its starting and ending points, and direction of movement, that give rise to different ‘types’ of lightning.Lightning can strike the ground, the air, or inside clouds, but there are roughly 5 to 10 times more cloud flashes than there are cloud-to-ground flashes.
Why is heat lightning called heat lightning?
Heat lightning got its name because it is often seen on hot summer nights, a time when thunderstorms are common. Cloud-to-Cloud (CC) Lightning (or intercloud lightning) Although rare, lightning can also travel from one cloud to another (or more!).
What is sheet lightning?
Sheet Lightning is a term used to describe clouds illuminated by a lightning discharge where the actual lightning channel is either inside the clouds or below the horizon (i.e. not visible to the observer). Although often associated with IC lightning, it is simply any lightning that is hidden by clouds or terrain aside from the flash of light it produces.
What is the name of the lightning that strikes far away from the storm?
A bolt from the blue (sometimes called ‘anvil lightning’ or ‘anvil-to-ground’ lightning) is a name given to a cloud-to-ground lightning discharge that strikes far away from its parent thunderstorm. It typically originates in the highest regions of a cumulonimbus cloud, travelling horizontally a good distance away from the thunderstorm before making a vertical descent to earth. Due to the final strike point being up to 10 miles away from the storm, these lightning events can occur at locations with clear ‘blue’ skies overhead - hence the name. Indeed, this is the origin of the term describing something unexpected: ‘out of the blue’!
Why do thunderstorms produce lightning?
These thunderstorms tend to produce significant lightning due in part to their high cloud bases, which increases the amount of water in ice form, necessary for strong electrical charging. These high cloud base storms tend to have a greater proportion of IC flashes.
What are sprites in thunderstorms?
Sprites are electrical discharges that occur high above active thunderstorms. Sprites appear as vertical red column extending up to 60 miles from the cloud top and have been found to occur in conjunction with and/or as a reaction to +CG lightning. Sprites are mostly red, faintly lit (thus only visible at night), and only last a few seconds making them nearly invisible to the naked eye and difficult to photograph. Their shape has been described as resembling columns, carrots or jellyfish!
