I am not asking for: god bowling or something like that. I am asking: what do I tell my 3 year old so she understands a little better what she is seeing and hearing durring a thunderstorm?
2007-07-09 06:09:09 · 4 answers · asked by jo 2 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Earth Sciences & Geology
You could explain that lightning is a large electrical spark that jumps from a cloud to the Earth. Perhaps give a smaller example of an electric spark using a 9V battery. Then explain that the small sound generated by the 9V battery spark is much bigger for lightning; we hear it as thunder.
2007-07-09 06:15:14 · answer #1 · answered by lithiumdeuteride 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Thunderstorms need three things:
Moisture - to form clouds and rain.
Unstable Air - relatively warm air that can rise rapidly.
Lift - fronts, sea breezes and mountains are capable of lifting air to help form thunderstorms.
What Is Lightning?
The action of rising and descending air within a thunderstorm separates positive and negative charges. Water and ice particles also affect the distribution of electrical charge. Lightning results from the buildup and discharge of electrical energy between positively and negatively charged areas. Most lightning occurs within the cloud or between the cloud and ground.
The average flash of lightning could turn on a 100-watt light bulb for more than 3 months. The air near a lightning strike is hotter than the surface of the sun! The rapid heating and cooling of air near the lightning channel causes a shock wave that results in thunder.
Your chances of being struck by lightning are estimated to be 1 in 600,000 but those chances can be reduced by following safety rules. Most lightning deaths and injuries occur when people are caught outdoors, and most happen in the summer. Many fires in the western United States and Alaska are started by lightning. In the past 10 years, more than 15,000 fires have been started by lightning.
2007-07-09 13:18:16 · answer #2 · answered by pick013 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Lightning is electricity.
Lightning is hotter than the sun.
The heat causes the air to move.
Think of lightning as a mallet and the air as a gong.
When the lightning hits the air it makes noise much like a gong makes noise when it is hit by a mallet.
How's that?
(A little inaccurate, I know, but in 3 year old terms.)
.
2007-07-09 14:59:34 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Flash; boom!
2007-07-09 13:48:17 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋