Where do lightning and thunder come from?

Question

Why is lightning so bright? Why is thunder so loud? How is there even lightning or thunder? Where do they come from? Is it just a theory that the sky "gets bad" or that Jesus is "bowling". Or that mother nature is on her period?

Answer 1

well thunder i think is when wait i forgot im going to edit this. okay thunder is the sound of exploding air. the striek of lighting heats up the air between 15k to 16k degrees farenheight. and for lighting this might help.http://www.weatherwizkids.com/lightning1...

Answer 2

Storm clouds build up an electrical charge - (of negative ions) - when the charge gets strong enough, it short circuits to the ground in a lightning flash. The flash causes an almost instantaneous split path in the air and thunder is heard as the air returns to normal pressure. A lightning flash can be millions of volts.

Answer 3

Zeus is the God of the gods. When He is angry He throws down his mighty thunderbolts. He used these thunderbolts to defeat the mighty Titans.\ Is just as valid explanation as the ones you were told.

It has to do with electrostatic forces, nothing supernatural. Nothing has anything to do with supernatural things, for they do not exist, besides in the tales that parents tell their kids.

It is not a "theory" that jesus is bowling, its a story for kids.

Theory has a scientific meaning and this is not it. Jesus bowling is what parents tell their kids so they always think of jesus. A theory is an explanation of a phenomena which is based on observations, studies, and experiments, all which are reproducible by other scientists, follow the scientific method, and are constantly tested, and reevaluated.

You have a lot to learn about this world. The vast knowledge of science is one. And unfortunately, why parents would lie to their kids is another.

Answer 4

To create a thunder storm you need two things. Warm moist air and a lifting action.  Since hot air rises and hot air is able to hold more moisture than cold air, you can see why thunderstorms are more likely in the Summer.  

If it is hot and humid enough big puffy cumulus clouds loaded with water can be forced way upward into the sky.  If they grow tall enough the vertically building cloud will eventually reach air that is too cold to hold water.  When that happens the clouds on top start to shed water.  But the hot air below is so strong that the rain cannot reach the ground and is pushed back up again.  This continues until something has to give.

The water molecules are heated and cooled and banging into each other over and over generating static electricity.  Once we reach the tipping point the rain overpowers the hot air lifting action and the fun begins.  

Lightening is so bright because it is an enormous amount of electrical current arcing.  The thunder is actually a sonic boom caused by the electrical arc traveling much faster than sound.

Hope this helps you understand this beautiful, dangerous and amazing natural phenomenon.

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