#lightning
Questions about “lightning”.
4 articles
How hot is lightning?
For the briefest instant, a single streak of light carves a path hotter than the Sun. And that deafening roar comes from the very same heat.
Why do volcanic eruptions make lightning?
Bolts of lightning flash through a towering black plume of ash. There is no thundercloud, so why does lightning strike above a volcano? The phenomenon appears even in Japanese records from the eighth century.
Why do we see lightning before we hear thunder?
A flash, then a pause, then the rumble. Lightning and thunder are born in the same instant, so why do they reach us at different times? That gap has also served science remarkably well.
Is there a lake where the lightning never stops?
Silent lightning flickers on the horizon hundreds, even thousands of times in a single night. In one place, nights like that add up to months of every year.