Process of Lightning

The appearance of lightning starts from the electric charge that gathers in the cloud so that the
position of the cloud becomes higher. This makes the cloud charge visible in the air turbulence,
causing the electric charge in the cloud to move quickly and continuously.

This process will cause a positive charge and a negative charge will separate. The upper part of the
cloud becomes positively charged and the lower part of the cloud is negatively charged.

The negative charge at the bottom of this cloud has a positive charge on the earth. So, when the
negative charge on the cloud is large enough, the flow of negative charge from the cloud will go to
the earth so that there is a lightning.

When lightning strikes, there is an exchange between the negative charge from the cloud with the
positive charge from the earth so that it shows a flash of light and thunder.

This process aims to remove the negative charge on the cloud in order to achieve balance.

Besides being able to balance the clouds, it turns out that lightning events also have benefits for life
on earth, you know. Some of these benefits are:

1.Helps plant growth

Lightning's electrical energy cuts off nitrogen in the atmosphere. This makes one nitrogen atom
bond with oxygen to form nitrogen oxide.

Nitrogen oxides will dissolve in water into nitric acid and carried by rainwater down to the earth's
surface. The water will reach the soil and be absorbed by plants.

Plants grown in soil with a lot of nitrogen will be more fertile.

2. Forming ozone in the earth's atmosphere

In addition to forming nitrogen oxides, lightning that reaches the earth will form O3 substances or
better known as ozone. So, when there is a flash of lightning, at that time the ozone layer will be
thicker so that it protects the earth from harmful ultraviolet radiation from the sun.

3. Kills bacteria and germs

When a flash of lightning strikes the earth, the air temperature around the lightning can reach
around 2,776 degrees Celsius. This high temperature can kill germs and bacteria in the air. In
addition, rainwater also carries materials that are harmful to humans.

This makes the air after the rain fresher and cooler.

3. Lightning Hazard for Earth

Although it has a number of good benefits for the earth, actually lightning also poses some danger to
life on earth. Because lightning can cause unexpected disasters. For that, we must always be careful
when it rains accompanied by lightning.

Here are some lightning hazards to watch out for:

If a flash of lightning that falls to the ground strikes metal or a building structure, it can cause an
electrical short which has the potential to cause a fire.
Lightning flashes can make living beings lose their lives or die. Because, the high voltage in lightning
cannot be resisted by living things.

When lightning strikes a signal tower there is a high probability of an explosion and fire.

So that's some explanations about the process of lightning, the positive impact of lightning on the
earth, and the dangers of lightning