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What is thunder? Why is there thunder?

A particularly common natural phenomenon that occurs everywhere on our earth is thunder. It is an extremely powerful electric current and is ready to destroy everything it throws at it. Thunderstorms and gloomy black clouds in the sky lead to huge electric currents that release lightning between the clouds, always waiting for the right place to create a launching pad to the ground where people live. That is thunder.

By Ken aquariumsPublished about a month ago 4 min read

What is thunder?

Lightning or lightning is an electrical discharge phenomenon in the atmosphere between clouds and the ground or between clouds carrying charges of different signs, sometimes also appearing in volcanic eruptions or dust (sand) storms. When discharged in the atmosphere, lightning can move at a speed of 36,000km/h.

Thunder or thunder is the sound caused by lightning and is a natural phenomenon. Depending on the distance and nature of the lightning flashes, the sound of thunder can be a short boom or a loud, long or short boom. The sound of thunder often follows the flash of lightning.

When lightning flashes, followed by a thunderclap, a phenomenon that clearly describes the speed of sound as being slower than the speed of light. Because of this difference, one can calculate how far away lightning is by measuring the time between seeing the flash and hearing the sound of thunder.

Lightning is the movement of ions, but the image of lightning is created by a glowing plasma stream, so it can be seen before the sound is heard because the sound only moves at a speed of 1,230km/h under normal conditions. of air and light travels 299,792,458 m/s.

Clay can reach temperatures of 30,000°C, 20 times the temperature needed to turn silica sand into glass.

Lightning is the movement of ions, but the image of lightning is created by a glowing plasma stream.

What causes lightning?

When two oppositely charged clouds come close together, the voltage between them can reach millions of volts. Between the two clouds there is a phenomenon of electric sparks and we see a flash of lightning. A few seconds later we hear an explosion, which is thunder (because the speed of light is faster than the speed of sound, so we see the lightning first). When a charged thundercloud moves close to the ground to open areas, encounters a high object such as a tree, a person holding a pickaxe or shovel... there will be a phenomenon of electric sparks between the cloud and the ground. That is the phenomenon of lightning.

What is the safest way to prevent lightning strikes?

When indoors, stand away from windows, doors, electrical appliances, avoid wet places such as bathrooms, water tanks, faucets, and do not use the phone unless absolutely necessary.

You should unplug electrical devices before a thunderstorm occurs. With telephone lines or electrical wires connected to the outside grid, they are likely to be affected by lightning strikes.

You should stay away from these wires and electrical objects with a distance of at least 1 meter. Need to unplug the antenna from the TV when there is a thunderstorm.

If outdoors, absolutely do not use trees as shelter from the rain, avoid surrounding higher areas, stay away from metal objects such as bicycles, machines, iron fences...

You should find a dry place. If there are taller trees around, you should look for a low place. Look for a low tree position. The person is in as low a position as possible, with his hands around his neck, his contact with the ground is minimal; Stand on tiptoes, do not lie on the ground. In particular, do not stand in groups of people close together.

If you feel your hair stand up (like the electric feeling when touching your hand in front of the TV), it means you could be struck by lightning at any time, immediately sit down and cover your ears. Do not lie down on the ground or put your hands on the ground.

Photo of 100 lightning bolts hitting the Turkish sky

The photo captures at least three types of lightning during a thunderstorm

Photographer Uğur İkizler put together all the lightning that appeared for more than 50 minutes amid a fierce thunderstorm in one photo.

A photographer recorded time-lapse photos of more than 100 lightning bolts appearing during a thunderstorm in Türkiye. Astronomy photographer Uğur İkizler created the impressive image by combining multiple frames of the sky near his home in the coastal town of Mudanya, collected over 50 minutes at midnight on June 16, meaning an average Every 30 seconds a bolt of lightning strikes.

At least three different types of lightning can be clearly seen from the photo, including inter-cloud lightning, cloud-to-ground lightning, and cloud-to-water lightning, according to Spaceweather.com. It is not uncommon for multiple lightning strikes to appear during such a thunderstorm. Worldwide, there are 1.4 billion lightning strikes each year, or 3 million lightning strikes/day and 44 lightning strikes/second, according to the UK Met Office.

Each individual lightning bolt has a voltage of between 100 million and one billion volts. This much energy can push the surrounding air temperature up to between 10,000 and 33,000 degrees Celsius, according to the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). For comparison, the Sun's surface temperature is only 5,500 degrees Celsius.

The new photo shows the characteristic zigzag shape of lightning. Researchers still don't know exactly what causes this zigzag shape, but a 2022 study suggests it's the result of a highly conductive form of oxygen that unusually accumulates as lightning reaches the ground. .

AdvocacyScienceNatureClimate

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Ken aquariums

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Comments (2)

  • HK Decor9 days ago

    Very inspiring read, thanks for sharing. Please develop it further so I can have more of this interesting knowledge

  • Hats off to your work!

 Ken aquariumsWritten by Ken aquariums

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