2006-06-21 16:23:17 · 10 answers · asked by xxpatsfan 1 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Earth Sciences & Geology
Lightning are actually sparks produced when water molecules in the clouds rub against each other, producing friction and therefore heat. This creates positive and negative charges and they always seek to attract each other. (like a magnet)
Thus, lightning can acutally shoot anywhere it wants to, as long as there is a negative in one place and a positive charge in the other. Lightning also tends to hit the closest object within range. Contrast to popular belief, metallic objects do not attract lightning. They just conduct the electricity better than other insulators, and of course, the shock will be greater.
2006-06-21 16:35:06 · answer #1 · answered by smashingly.smashing 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Lightning travels from a negatively charged area to a positively charged area. The negatively charged area is at the bottom of a cloud, and the positively charged area is at a point on the ground, a tree, or whatever is nearest to the cloud. Sometimes that positively charged area is in another cloud, so that lightning doesn't even touch the ground. Those are usually the way lightning travels, but sometimes it can even come from the ground to the cloud, which isn't as often. It all depends on where the charged areas are at. Lightning basically is just a way to balance a charge.
2006-06-21 23:29:40 · answer #2 · answered by memyself91 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Lightning travels in several different directions. There are cloud to cloud lightning strikes, cloud to ground strikes and very rarely object to object strikes. I have a feeling you are interested in the second one; cloud to ground. In a cloud to ground strike there are positive particles in the cloud that attract to the negative particles in the ground. They actually draw each other, one from the ground and one from the cloud and meet somewhere in the middle. Its when they finally touch that the discharge occurs. BANG! All the positive particles in the cloud release into the negative charged earth. So in essence lightning doesn't really travel one direction or another. It connects somewhere in the middle! As for cloud to cloud its pretty obvious. Same process, just on a horizontal plane. Again with object to object it is the same (however extremely rare).
2006-06-21 23:33:47 · answer #3 · answered by Chaosman 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Some lightning even goes up from the clouds and these bolts have been called "sprites" by NASA astronauts who were the first to observe them.
A bolt of lightning is the discharge of static potential. It can happen anywhere there is a difference of static potential and can complete a circuit to discharge.
2006-06-22 00:27:31 · answer #4 · answered by quntmphys238 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
lightning travels in all ways. some of it shoots into space and is called "Blue Jets," some of it just covers the intire sky and is called "Sheet Lightning," it can travel from sky to ground, or ground to sky, it all depends on where the negative and/or positivly charged atoms meet.
2006-06-21 23:28:10 · answer #5 · answered by Paul P 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
From the Earth to the Sky. it happens for the same reason static electricity happens, a build up of energy in a small environment, which eventually needs to be released.
2006-06-21 23:29:01 · answer #6 · answered by asmul8ed 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Surprisngly,
lighrning travels up to meet a downward heading discharge.
2006-06-21 23:30:39 · answer #7 · answered by Dan S 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It travels both down and up.
2006-06-22 00:01:41 · answer #8 · answered by jbhughes2003 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Earth to sky
2006-06-21 23:26:27 · answer #9 · answered by ? 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Anyway it wants to go it can go up, down, or even sideways. Lighting has so much power it is completely unpredictable.
2006-06-22 01:48:14 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋