my brother says that lightning comes from the ground and i totally disagree. who's right?

Answer 1

As negative charges collect at the base of the cloud, they repel the electrons near the ground's surface. This leaves the ground and the objects on it with a positive charge.

As the attraction between the cloud and the ground grows stronger, electrons shoot down from the cloud. The electrons move in a path that spreads in different directions - like a river delta. Each step is approximately 50 metres long and the branching path is called a stepped leader. Further electrons follow, making new branches. The average speed at which the stepped leader cuts through the air is about 270,000 miles per hour.

As the stepped leader approaches the ground, positive electrical sparks rise from tall objects such as trees and buildings. These sparks are known as upward streamers. When the stepped leader meets the upward streamer, the lightning channel is completed. When the lightning channel is complete, the electrons in the channel rush towards the ground. This is the return stroke which lights up the channel. The first electrons to reach the ground light up the bottom of the channel. The upper part of the channel glows as the electrons move rapidly down it. Therefore, the light from the flash starts at the ground and moves upwards. The branches of the stepped leader are also lit up, but not as brightly as the main channel as there are less electrons present. The lightning flash ends when there are no electrons left in the channel.

If lightning flickers, it is probably because there has been more than one return stroke. Following a lightning flash, the lightning channel is momentarily empty and it is then possible for electrons from another part of the cloud to enter it. The movement of the electrons into the channel is called a dart leader. It causes another return stroke to occur. The repeated return strokes and dart leaders make the lightning appear to flicker because of the great speed at which they occur.

http://www.metoffice.com/education/secondary/students/thunderstorms.html

Answer 2

You're both correct! Lightning comes from the clouds and from the ground, but quite often from the ground. Lightning can also go from cloud to cloud. If you want to understand it a little better, try playing with a Tesla coil, well, a small one. Incidently, electricity and the "movement" of charge is not as well understood as people would like to think. Often, there are contradictions in evidence and theories are always being revised. Revel in the beauty, appreciate the mystery, and who cares who "knows it all".

Answer 3

It can go both ways:

Scene 1: A leader makes its way from the cloud to the ground and makes the ground positively charged (the cloud is negatively charged). A travelling spart meets the leader on the way. When they meet, huge amounts of electron goes down from the cloud to the ground. Then the visible lightning goes from the ground to the cloud.

Scene 2: This is the opposite of scene 1.

Answer 4

It does come from the ground and head to the sky.
It only looks like it comes from the clouds over head when it is about to rain but it does not.the earth has a iron core which produces static when rain or high moisture is present which then discharges into the atmosphere with a loud bang or crack,which can also produce sheet lightning or chain lightning or any of the many other types of lightning. you can also try googling your question for more answers.

Answer 5

Lighting is caused when the differential between the static electric charges between the Earth and the clouds becomes great enough for the electrons to jump the gap and evenly distribute the charge across the entire system. It is extremely rare that the clouds become positively charged in comparison to the ground because there is far less matter for the electrons to attach themselves to. So in fact most lighting is caused by electrons jumping from the ground to the clouds. Your brother is right.

Answer 6

I was told that to. But come on if it came from the ground why is there so much lightning in the sky not touching the ground.

Answer 7

In an electrical storm, the storm clouds are charged like giant capacitors in the sky. The upper portion of the cloud is positive and the lower portion is negative. How the cloud acquires this charge is still not agreed upon within the scientific community, but the following description provides one plausible explanation.

check out these links below on lightning

Answer 8

Lightning is a powerful natural electrostatic discharge produced during a thunderstorm. This abrupt electric discharge is accompanied by the emission of visible light and other forms of electromagnetic radiation. The electric current passing through the discharge channels rapidly heats and expands the air into plasma producing acoustic shock waves (thunder) in the atmosphere.

Answer 9

Without going into much detail about breakdown mechanisms and types of lighting, you are actually both correct.

Electric breakdown often starts within the cloud as a stepped leader...as it approaches the ground, streamers rise from objects to meet it in response to the increased electric field. The circuit closes leading to a massive current pulse.

That said, tall objects can initiate breakdown as well, causing upward moving stepped leaders.

The current can move either direction as well, but most often, electrons move from the cloud to the ground.

Answer 10

Lightning comes from the sky and connects with the ground, which does occasionally spark its own high voltage static to meet it. However, lightning comes from the sky.

Good luck!

Rebecca
http://www.ipowergrfx.com