Lightning

Lightning is electrical discharge that typically take place in dusty or stormy atmospheric conditions.

Fast Facts

1. Lightning kills roughly 100 Americans each year¹
2. In 1752 Benjamin Franklin performed his famous lightning experiment
3. Average bolt of lightning measures roughly 1 Billion volts²
4. On average there are 100 strikes of lighting on Earth every second²

Glossary

• Strike: Name given to the entire process of 1 bolt of lightning
• Stroke: Bursts of electrical discharge that make up a lightning strike
• Leader: Initial stroke of a lightning strike
• Thunder: Sound created by a lightning strike

Types of Lightning

• Cloud to Cloud: Charge transfer that takes place between different clouds or regions of the same cloud
• Dry: Any form of lightning that does not take place while precipitation is falling
• Cloud to Ground: Transfer of charge between the ground and clouds overhead
• Ball: Theoretical form of lightning that exists a spherical charged entity
• Sprite: plasma flashes that occur in the upper atmosphere, often accompanying positively charged lighting
• Blue Jet: Cone-shaped blue lightning that projects into the outer areas of the atmosphere

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