Infographics | What is lightning and how is it formed

Definition of lightning

ArabiaWeather - Lightning is a large electric spark resulting from the transfer of electrons from one place to another very quickly, which makes the air glow around it, and the lightning line is the path of the movement of these electrons.

How does lightning happen?

Lightning is formed in upward and downward air currents inside the aggregate cloud where water droplets, hailstones and snow slides collide with each other; So scientists believe that these collisions are what generate electrical charges inside the cloud.

The positive and negative electric charges in the cloud are separated from each other, so the negative charges fall to the lower part of the cloud, while the positive charges remain in the middle of the upper part of the cloud and abound on the surface of the earth, and when the attraction occurs between the negative and positive charges (electrical discharge), it occurs either inside the cloud Itself or between two adjacent clouds or between the cloud and the earth; If the attraction is strong enough, the electrons move towards the positive charges and this path results in the flash of lightning.

The following figure shows the electrical discharges that make up lightning

First, the discharge occurs through the cloud itself

Secondly, the discharge becomes from one cloud to another

Third, it becomes a process of discharging the cloud into the air

Fourth, the discharge from the cloud to the ground