Why is lightning jaggard?

Question

Why doesn't it come down in a straight line?

Answer 1

It's not jagged, although it isn't a straight line.  Elizabeth explained it the best.  Forget what Palmer said, it's not caused by clouds colliding.

Answer 2

For a complete understanding of this, a rather thorough explanation of electricity would be needed. The general idea should be simple to get though. Electricity doesn't "simply" follow the path of least resistance. It instead flows out in every direction to a point but in greatest proportion by far down the path of least resistance. So all of the little spikes down a lightning bolt are its electrical "tentacles" that are feeling around for different paths. Some of the electrical potential follows these paths, but it will eventually develop a path of least resistance that it will prefer by far. This is why it still has a general "line" down which most of the energy (and brightness) is concentrated, even if there are many bends and off-shoots.

So, basically, it doesn't go straight because there isn't just one straight path of electrical potential. The conditions in the air are not exactly the same from sky to ground. It has a zig-zagged maze-like path that the lightning fills up in different proportions as it seeks the optimum path to restore local electrical "balance" by moving electrons.

Answer 3

That's actually an excellent question, and I'm not certain of the precise answer. However, I do know that lightning, like all electricity, will try to follow the path of least resistance.

Varying air conditions between the cloud and the ground probably result in the path of least (electrical) resistance being not a straight line (as it would be were the electrical properties of air homogeneous) but the jagged path we always observe.

Answer 4

Lightning bolts are crooked because air itself is irregular, especially in a storm where winds cause turbulence, etc.  Even at the molecular level, the the air molecules aren't all lined up, but in random

positions relative to one another.

Answer 5

i think its bcos it takes two clouds to collide so it knocks the bolt jagged