did you ever wonder what the speed of lightning would be if it didnt zig zag?

Answer 1

If lightning were to travel in either a straight line or a zig zagged line the speed would be the same. What would differ is the time it takes to travel from A to B.

Think of it like a car - you can travel in a straight line between two points or you can travel in a zig zag line, the car moves at the same speed it's just that the journey takes longer if you zig zag.

Contrary to previous answers, lightning isn't the speed of light - it's an electrical discharge (rather like a huge spark), it's this 'spark' that creates light. By comparison it's very slow, travelling at about one thirty thousandth of the speed of light.

Using very fast photography (high speed plasma imaging) people have been able to take photographs of a single streak of lightning as it travels through the air and by comparing the photos in a sequence have calculated that the speed at which lightning travels is about 36,000 km/h (22,000mph).

If the total length of a streak of lightning were 5km (3 miles) it would take about half a second to complete it's journey. This assumes the lightning we see is one single streak travelling in a single direction. It isn't. The lightning we see is two streaks - one travelling up from the earth and one down from the sky, these meet to form a single streak.

Answer 2

The lightning is zig-zagging because the energy (elctricity) is traveling the path of least resistance. I.E. Air is not just nothing, it is made up of atoms and other matter. The zig zag occurs as the energy travels along this conductive path. I believe this path is determined prior to the actual discharge and the discharge connects + to - through this path.
As such, the only way to increase the speed of the energy travel is to increase the conductivity of the air. Fill a lightning channel (but not the surrounding air) with with copper dust and +/- will connect quicker.
As an aside to young readers who may or may not know: Thunder is a sonic boom that occurs as the air within the lightning channel is superheated and expands faster than the speed of sound creating a sonic boom.

Answer 3

light does not zig zag. light is made up of photons which are sent out in a straight line and travel faster than anything else known to man. if u think that light zig zags because thats how lightning acts, then understand that lightning is not a beam of light, but more of an electrical current discharging. in a nut shell, what u see as lightning is not a ray of light.

Answer 4

Lightning, is light essentially, and light will find the shortest path/fastest path to travel in (in this case a charged cloud to ground [most common case {there is cloud to cloud, etc}]), so if it went in a straight line, it won't necessarily be hitting the ground any faster. It will infact slow it down.

Remember the speed of light is constant only in a vaccume. Where the refraction index n = 1. The atmosphere's n ~1.02, and this varies from the top of the atmosphere to its surface.

Answer 5

In this case, it's speed is constant. Speed is the magnitude component of velocity and by itself is directionless. Velocity is what requires direction. Therefore the zagging is irrelevant.

Answer 6

Lighting is basically just light. If it didn't 'zig-zag' it'll be just a same speed as light.

Answer 7

No I've never wondered. But that's a stupid question. It's the speed of light, a constant.

Answer 8

No. it may be precisely the comparable. the sole difference is the path it relatively is vacationing. the cost remains the comparable. via the way, it relatively is relatively useful to reassess your question class ;)

Answer 9

no, that is kind of odd to think about, but i guess i think about odd stuff to. like, why people stick their toung out as a way of "being mean". What is so thretining about a toung? i'd be afraid someone would pull my toung out. heh just kidding

Answer 10

that would'nt matter it is so fast.some lightining comes from the ground too