What is thunder and lightning?

Have you ever wondered why the sky lights up with a giant flash and rumbles with a booming crash during a thunderstorm? Join Mira and Finn as they uncover the shocking, sky-splitting secrets behind thunder and lightning! Did you know that a giant storm cloud acts just like a massive, floating battery? Inside towering Cumulonimbus clouds, freezing ice and water crash together to build up millions of volts of electricity. When it finally escapes, ZAP! It creates a blinding lightning bolt that is actually five times hotter than the surface of the Sun! But where does the thunder come from? You will learn how that intense heat makes the air explode outward at supersonic speed, creating the giant BOOM we hear! Plus, discover a super cool trick to count the seconds and find out exactly how far away a storm really is. We will even travel to a sandy beach to see how lightning turns sand into fossilized glass tubes called fulgurites! Get ready for an electrifying adventure!

Transcript

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Welcome to Science is Not Boring by Kidopoly.com. I'm Mira. And I'm Finn. Hey Finn, did you know that in the last one minute we've been talking, over 2,600 lightning strikes just happened somewhere on Earth? Wait, really? That's so many! I didn't hear a single boom! That's because they are happening all over the globe. Worldwide, lightning strikes about 44 times every single second. Whoa, that is a whole lot of zap. What are we talking about today? Today we are exploring the sky-splitting, ground-shaking mystery of thunder and lightning. Oh boy, I usually just hide under a blanket when the thunder gets really loud. There is no need to be scared once you understand how amazing it is. We are going to dive into giant storm clouds, discover lightning hotter than the sun, and learn a super cool trick to tell exactly how far away a storm is. Okay, now I'm definitely ready. Let's bring the thunder. So Finn, if I ask you what lightning actually is, what would you say? Hmm. Is it just fire in the sky? Like a giant laser beam made of fire? It definitely looks like a laser, but it is not fire at all. It is actually static electricity. Wait, like when I shuffle my fuzzy socks on the carpet and zap you on the arm? Exactly like that. Just millions and millions of times more powerful. Ew, I would not want to get zapped by a giant sky sock. Where does all that electricity even come from? Before a big thunderstorm, the sky fills with huge, dark, towering clouds called chemulonimbus clouds. Cumulow what? That sounds like a magic spell. Cemulonimbus! They are the ultimate storm engines. And Finn, these clouds are absolutely massive. They can grow up to ten miles high. Ten miles? That's higher than aeroplanes fly. Way higher! They grow so tall that they hit the very top of our weather atmosphere, called the tropopause. What happens when they hit the ceiling? They can't go any higher, so they flatten out at the top. It makes them look like giant, flat blacksmith anvils. Okay, so we have a 10-mile-high anvil cloud floating in the sky. How does it make electricity? Inside that massive cloud, things are getting very wild. You have hurricane force winds pushing freezing water droplets up and heavy, slushy ice pushing down. It is like a giant freezing blender up there. Exactly. And as all these ice crystals and water droplets crash into each other, they rub together and strip away invisible particles called electrons. And that builds up an electrical charge. Just like rubbing a balloon on my hair. Yes. The lighter ice crystals become positively charged and float to the top of the cloud. The heavier, slushy water becomes negatively charged and sinks to the bottom. So the whole cloud turns into a gigantic floating battery. You got it! And when that negative charge at the bottom gets incredibly strong, it desperately wants to connect with the positive ground below. Does it just shoot down all at once? Not exactly. The negative charge sends down invisible, jagged steps of electricity, looking for the best path. It is called a stepped leader. Invisible electricity stairs. That is so cool. And when it gets super close to the ground, the ground actually sends up a positive spark to meet it. The second they touch, ZAP! The main lightning bolt shoots back up. Whoa! How hot is that bolt? A lightning bolt can reach 53,540 degrees Fahrenheit. 53,000 degrees? How hot is that compared to the Sun? It is about five times hotter than the surface of the Sun. Wait, if lightning is five times hotter than the Sun, why doesn't it burn up the whole sky? Because it happens in just a few millionths of a second. But that intense, crazy heat is exactly what causes thunder. Really? I always thought thunder was just clouds crashing together. How does heat make a giant boom? Think about what happens when air gets heated to 53,000 degrees instantly. It turns into a glowing plasma and it expands. Like an explosion! Exactly like an explosion. The air expands at supersonic speed, creating a massive shockwave. That invisible shockwave ripping through the sky is the boom of thunder you hear. Oh, that explains the boom. But wait, why do we always see the lightning flash way before we hear the thunder? That is an amazing question. It is because light travels much, much faster than sound. How much faster? Light travels at an incredible 186,000 miles per second. It reaches your eyes almost instantly. But sound is sluggish. It takes about five seconds for thunder to travel just one mile. Oh, is that why people say you can count the seconds to know how far away a storm is? Yes. Next time you see a flash, just count the seconds. One, two, three. If you reach five before hearing the boom, the storm is exactly one mile away. That is actually really reassuring. Next time I see lightning, I won't just hide, I'll count. It is a great safety trick. But Finn, wait until you hear what happens when lightning actually hits the ground. Specifically when it hits a sandy beach. Does it turn the sand into a giant sand castle? Not quite. Lightning is so hot that it instantly melts the sand into a hollow glassy tube called a fulgorite. Wait, fossilised lightning glass? Yes. Fulgorites are basically the frozen skeletons of a lightning strike. Some of them are several feet long, buried right underground. I definitely want to find one of those. Does lightning strike everywhere on Earth? Almost everywhere. But there is one place that gets more lightning than anywhere else on the planet. It is called the Catatumbo Lightning in Venezuela. Catatumbo! That sounds awesome! How much lightning are we talking? This endless storm happens over Lake Maracaibo for up to 160 nights every single year. 160 nights? Half the year is just a thunderstorm. Yeah, and during its peak, the sky can flash 28 times a minute for up to 10 hours a night. That is basically nature's biggest strobe light party. I bet that helps the earth somehow, right? It does. Lightning actually helps plants grow. The intense heat breaks apart nitrogen in the air, bringing natural fertiliser down with the rain. So lightning is scary, but it is also a gardener. I love it. Alright, Finn, quiz time. Are you ready? Okay, I'm ready. Bring on the lightning round. First question. What is the name of the towering cloud that makes thunderstorms? Next one. How many times hotter is lightning compared to the surface of the sun? Question three. How many seconds does it take for the sound of thunder to travel one mile? Here's number four. Where in Venezuela does the everlasting lightning storm happen? Last question. What is the scientific name for the glass tube created when lightning hits sand? Great job! Let's see how you did. The first answer is cumulonimbus. For question two, lightning is five times hotter than the surface of the sun. Number three, the answer is it takes five seconds for thunder to travel one mile. Question four, the catatumbo lightning happens over Lake Maracaibo. And the final answer is it creates a fulgurite! I will never look at a thunderstorm the same way again. It is basically a giant floating battery filled with ice and explosions. Right? Just remember to count the seconds from the flash to stay safe. And if you listeners loved learning about lightning that is five times hotter than the sun, leave us a five-star review. Yes! Just scroll down on your podcast app and tap those five stars. Oh, and don't forget to check out our site, kidopoly.com. We've got tons of fun learning games and activities there. Absolutely. Head over to our site kidopoly.com for more cool stuff to explore. And if you want to shout out on the show or just want to say hi, email us at hello at kidopoly.com. See you next time on science is not boring. Bye everyone. Bye.