Where does lighting come from? And how is it made?

Answer 1

How rain clouds become charged is not fully understood, but most rain clouds are negatively charged at the base and positively charged at the top. The various hypotheses that explain how the polarization occurs may be divided into two categories: those that require ice and those that do not. Most meteorologists believe, however, that ice is a necessary factor, because lightning is not usually observed until ice has formed in the upper layers of thunderclouds. Experiments have shown that when dilute solutions of water are frozen the ice gains a negative charge but the water retains a positive charge. If, after freezing has started, rising air tears small droplets of water away from the frozen particles, the droplets are concentrated in the upper part of the cloud and the larger ice particles fall toward the base. On the other hand, experiments have also shown that large, swiftly falling drops of water become negatively charged whereas small, slowly falling drops become positively charged. The polarization of a thundercloud may thus be due to the rates at which large and small raindrops fall. However formed, the negative charge at the base of the cloud induces a positive charge on the earth beneath it, which acts as the second plate of a huge capacitor. When the electrical potential between two clouds or between a cloud and the earth reaches a sufficiently high value—about 10,000 volts (V) per centimeter (cm) or about 25,000 V/in. (a volt is a measure of electrical potential; for comparison, the potential supplied by an ordinary electrical outlet in the United States is 110 V)—the air becomes ionized along a narrow path and a lightning flash results. Many meteorologists believe that this is how a negative charge is carried to the ground and the total negative charge of the surface of the earth is maintained..

A new theory, suggesting that the electrical polarization in a thundercloud may cause precipitation rather than be a consequence of it, postulates that the electrical potential existing between the ionosphere—the highest layer of the atmosphere—and the earth initiates the polarization in a thundercloud. According to this theory, the upward flow of warm air through a thundercloud carries with it positively charged particles. These accumulate at the top of the cloud and attract negative charges from the ionosphere. The negative charges are carried to the base of the cloud by powerful downdrafts at the periphery of the cloud, thus preventing oppositely charged particles from neutralizing each other. Perhaps 90 percent of all lightning discharges, known as bolts or strokes, from cloud to ground are negative; the remainder are positive flashes. Rarely, strokes may move from ground to cloud, particularly from mountain peaks and from tall objects such as radio towers.

Answer 2

Lightning is the result of visible electric discharge associated with a thunderstorm which develop from cumulonimbus clouds.The various types include "cloud discharge" occuring within the thunder cloud,the "ground discharge" between cloud and ground and the air discharge"between part of a cloud and the adjacent air.
Lightning and thunder occur when large accumulations of liquid and solid water are carried to heights where the temperature is well below minus 20 degrees.The electric discharge is due to the very high potential differences created within the cloud ,between cloud and the ground, and between the cloud and the adjacent air.The potential differences are created due the breaking of the rain drops inside the cloud,and rubbing against the ice particles resting on top of the cloud by the raising convective currents.

Answer 3

How charge forms - "Falling droplets of ice and rain become electrically polarized as they fall through the atmosphere's natural electric field;
Colliding ice particles become charged by electrostatic induction."

How the bolt forms - "the electric field becomes strong enough, an electrical discharge (the bolt of lightning) occurs within clouds or between clouds and the ground. During the strike, successive portions of air become a conductive discharge channel as the electrons and positive ions of air molecules are pulled away from each other and forced to flow in opposite directions. "

to learn more, see here - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lightning#Formation

Answer 4

it comes from the clouds the electrical charges snap you can hear the thunder and see the lightning. There is a positive charge and a negative charge. the ground is one and the clouds are another

Answer 5

lightning is a energy that has great amount of charge.
during rain the +ve clouds bangs with the -ve clouds thus causing a great amount of energy in the form of light (lightning)as well as sound (thunder)

think so will help you

bye

Answer 6

santosh said that thunder is created by clouds colliding, when really it is the sound of the bolt hitting the ground in the form of a sonic boom......