2006-11-14 07:21:27 · 3 answers · asked by legionmober 2 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Weather
You know why is zigzags right. you say you don't but you know.
Its chuck norris bending it before he throws it at people
2006-11-14 07:22:41 · answer #1 · answered by davidd 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Lightning doesn't "zig-zag" in the normal sense ... although if you looked at it at the atomic level, you'd probably find that it wasn't taking the straighest path to ground.
Lightning occurs as a result of ionizing the particles in the atmospheric path between two surfaces of opposing potential. Most times, this actually means cloud-to-cloud, rather than cloud-to-earth. The speed at which the effect occurs is dependent on the potential of the two surfaces and the distance between them.
A higher potential (or more closely spaced surfaces) will generate a "faster" arc - which isn't really the time it takes the energy to travel from A to B, but more like the duration of the effect.
From your perspective, the whole thing occurs at the speed of light - which is how a large portion of the energy is dissipated. What you actually see - depending on where you're looking from, of course - may in fact be a diffraction of the actual phenomena. Kind of like looking at something under water ... it isn't quite where you think it is ...
2006-11-14 15:39:14 · answer #2 · answered by CanTexan 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No. I never wondered that.
2006-11-14 15:28:57 · answer #3 · answered by TellMeSup 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋