Does lightning ever strike the same place more than once? Well, the CN Tower in Toronto is hit by lightning about 75 times per year. In 2011, the tower was hit by lightning 52 times in 84 minutes. So, lightning not only strikes the same place more than once, it does so in large numbers.
Atoms are the basic building blocks. Everything in the universe is made up of atoms. Atoms consist of protons (positively charged), neutrons (no charge) and electrons (negatively charged). The nucleus of the atom contains the protons and the neutrons and the electrons orbit the nucleus.
Electricity is basically the flow of electrons. Lightning is a flash of electricity and is very dangerous. It can become about five times hotter than the Sun’s surface. It kills about 2,000 people every year. An average American has a 1 in 5,000 chance of being struck by lightning.
In a thundercloud, there are bits of frozen raindrops that bump into each other as they move around. All this bumping causes little electrical charges in the cloud. Protons then go towards the top, while electrons go to the bottom of the cloud. The electrons in the bottom part of the cloud sort of start to travel towards the ground. Since opposites attract, the protons in the areas underneath the thundercloud (the ground, a nearby tree, or even a person) are attracted to the electrons and travel into the cloud. So, it may appear as though lightning happens from clouds down but in reality, it is happening from the ground up.
Dragging your feet across a carpet causes a buildup of charge because electrons from the carpet jump onto you. But as more and more electrons jump on you, the more they become restless. This is because electrons do not like other electrons, they like protons. Opposite charges attract and charges that are the same repulse. So, the electrons want to go someplace else. When you touch a doorknob or another person, the electrons travel to the doorknob/person and you (and the doorknob/person) get an electrical shock.
Thunder is the sound that is created after a lightning flash because of the expansion of heated air (lightning heats the air around it). Our ears perceive this expansion as a bang. Since the speed of light is faster than the speed of sound, we see the lightning first and then hear the thunder.
If you are ever wondering how far a thunderstorm is, count the seconds between the lightning flash and the sound of thunder. Then, divide that number by five. The result you get is how far away the storm is from you in miles.
Getting hit by a lightning strike can lead to devastating health effects such as cardiac arrest, a damaged brain, or even paralysis. Make sure if you find yourself in a place that has some sort of thunderstorm warning, you protect yourself by going inside.
When I used to play soccer a really long time ago, my coach applied the 30/30 rule. This rule meant that if we saw lightning and couldn’t count to 30 before hearing thunder (if we did, that would mean the thunderstorm was 6 miles away), we should go indoors. We had to stay inside for 30 minutes after hearing the last clap of thunder.
To protect yourself from lightning, don’t get water from the tap because lightning can travel through plumbing. Stay away from electronic equipment, don’t use traditional landlines (phones that are connected to the wall), and avoid concrete floors and walls.
But, there are benefits to lightning as well. Lightning helps dissolve unusable nitrogen in water, which creates a natural fertilizer that plants can absorb through their roots. Lightning also excites oxygen and can create ozone (O3), which prevents us from getting dangerous ultraviolet radiation from the Sun.
Even though there are benefits to lightning, there are still dangers.
Vaageesha Das is a junior at Morgantown High School.
Today’s information comes from:
- Lightning Facts and Information. (2009, October 09). Retrieved December 21, 2020, from https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/natural-disasters/lightning/;
- Lightning. (n.d.). Retrieved December 21, 2020, from http://www.weatherwizkids.com/?page_id=70; Scishowkids. (2015, June 18).
- What Causes Thunder and Lightning? Retrieved December 21, 2020, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fEiVi9TB_RQ; Static Electricity. (n.d.). Retrieved December 21, 2020, from https://billnye.com/the-science-guy/static-electricity; Sundermier, A. (2016, April 20).
- The most terrifying part about getting struck by lightning is what happens to you afterwards. Retrieved December 22, 2020, from https://www.businessinsider.com/what-to-expect-when-you-survive-lightning-2016-4; TorontoSymphony. (2016, February 24).
- How does lightning work? Retrieved December 21, 2020, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cz_uYBx1G5s; Wicker, C. (n.d.). Lightning. Retrieved December 21, 2020, from https://www.weatherwizkids.com/weather-lightning.htm.
