2007-07-11 17:04:29 · 12 answers · asked by theocurio 2 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Physics
No. In fact, it travels slower than light. Electricity gets 'held up' by friction with the material it's traveling through.
Lighting has two basic parts: the leader, and the main stroke. The leader is a packet of negative electric charge that descends from the cloud in jagged leaps. Its average speed is much slower than the speed of light. Once it reaches the ground, there is essentially a short circuit of ionized air, and the main stroke occurs. The main stroke is the visible part, and the electrons move at a significant fraction of the speed of light.
However, no particle with mass (such as an electron) can ever reach or exceed the speed of light.
2007-07-11 17:12:29 · answer #1 · answered by lithiumdeuteride 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
The flash you see from a lightning bolt is travelling at light speed, it's a flash and it's light. However, the light is a result of the flow of electrons during the static discharge super heating the air. No bits of matter, not even an almost massless electron, can travel at or faster than light. Electrons come close, but don't ever move at c.
2007-07-11 17:21:46 · answer #2 · answered by quntmphys238 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Lightning is caused by charged up particles in the clouds. Once there are enough electrons so that the attraction is big enough, the electrons try to ground themselves. What "falls" to the ground are electrons that travel way slower than the speed of light. However, what travels to your eyes is light, therefore travels at roughly C = 3E8. Similarly, we use optic cables to transfer data since light travels faster than electricity. So, the answer to the question is no.
2007-07-11 18:17:13 · answer #3 · answered by Seb 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Light travels 186,286 persecond lighting travels at about 3,700 miles per second. And there is according to stephen hawking the only thing faster than light is the universe expanding which is why the light from the other side does not reach us (Earth)
2016-05-20 02:24:29 · answer #4 · answered by ? 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
no, nothing travels faster than light, although lightning travels close to the speed of light
2007-07-11 17:10:31 · answer #5 · answered by Da Funk 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Lighting propagates from one point to another as an electron "avalanche" due to an electric field in the atmosphere. A free electron hits an atoms and knocks loose electrons which accelerate in the field and hit other atoms. It's very much analogous to a snow avalanche. Electrons have mass and don't really get that high in speed since newly released electrons have to start from rest. So it all happens as a small fraction of the speed of light.
2007-07-12 02:55:56 · answer #6 · answered by Dr. R 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
no, nothing travels faster than light
2007-07-11 17:09:54 · answer #7 · answered by innocentANDpc 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
from memory...lightning (elex) and light travel, at the speed of light, so same same....
2007-07-11 17:12:41 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
no, they are both lights. They travel at the same speed.
2007-07-11 18:50:20 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
hmmm... nope... light is the most fastest..
2007-07-11 17:10:22 · answer #10 · answered by YANYAN 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋