Submitted To

Dr. Rabia Shakoor

Submitted by
Abdur Rahman

Roll No
Fa19c2bc038

Topic
Lightning and Thunderstorm

Semester
7th

Assignment

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Table of Contents
Table of Figure.......................................................................................................................................2
Lightning..............................................................................................................................................3
Formation of Positive & Negative Ions..............................................................................................3
How Is a Lightning Bolt Formed?......................................................................................................5
Causes of lightning..............................................................................................................................8
Voltage and Current Level of Lightning................................................................................................8
Lightning’s partner................................................................................................................................9
What Causes thunder?........................................................................................................................9
Lightning Rod......................................................................................................................................9
References...........................................................................................................................................11

Table of Figure
Figure 1..................................................................................................................................................4
Figure 2..................................................................................................................................................5
Figure 3..................................................................................................................................................7
Figure 4..................................................................................................................................................8
Figure 5................................................................................................................................................10

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 Lightning and Thunderstorm
Lightning
Lightning is a discharge of electricity. A single stroke of lightning can heat the
air around it to 30,000°C (54,000°F)! This extreme heating causes the air to
expand explosively fast. The expansion creates a shock wave that turns into a
booming sound wave, known as thunder [1].
lightning, the visible discharge of electricity that occurs when a region of
a cloud acquires an excess electrical charge, either positive or negative, that is
sufficient to break down the resistance of air [2].

Formation of Positive & Negative Ions

As ice crystals high within a thunderstorm flow up and down in the turbulent
air, they crash into each other. Small negatively charged particles called
electrons are knocked off some ice crystals and added to other ice crystals as
they crash past each other. This separates the positive (+) and negative (-)
charges of the cloud. The top of the cloud becomes positively charged with
particles called protons, while the base of the cloud becomes negatively charged
[1].
A storm can cause air molecules and water droplets in the atmosphere to
separate. Air molecules and suspended water droplets collide as they swirl
around in the clouds. Warmer air and water droplets rise, carrying charges with
them. The result is an excess of positive charge near the cloud tops, and an
excess of negative charge in the bottom layers of the clouds. In addition, the
temperature of rising water droplets goes down. The warmer, outer layers of
these cooling droplets tend to carry more of the negative charge, making it
easier for those charges to rub off in collisions [3].

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 Figure 1

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How Is a Lightning Bolt Formed?
Because opposites attract, the negative charge at the bottom of the storm cloud
wants to link up with the ground’s positive charge. Once the negative charge at
the bottom of the cloud gets large enough, a flow of negative charge called a
stepped leader rushes toward the Earth. The positive charges at the ground are
attracted to the stepped leader, so positive charge flows upward from the
ground. When the stepped leader and the positive charge meet, a strong electric
current carries positive charge up into the cloud. This electric current is known
as the return stroke. We see it as the bright flash of a lightning bolt [1].
Thunder and lightning occur at roughly the same time although you see the
flash of lightning before you hear the thunder. This is because light travels
much faster than sound.

Figure 2

Cloud-to-ground lightning is initiated by a preliminary breakdown process

within the cloud, typically between the centre region of negative charge and the
small positive charge below it. This process creates a channel of
partially ionized air—air in which neutral atoms and molecules have been
converted to electrically charged ones. Next, a stepped leader (initial lightning
stroke) forms

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 Step Leader

1 2

3 4

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and propagates downward, following channels created by the preliminary
breakdown process. The leader is highly branched in the direction of
its propagation. Most leader channels are negatively charged. When the stepped
leader nears the ground, an upward, connecting discharge of opposite polarity
rises and meets it at a point typically about 30 metres (100 feet) above the
ground. When the junction is complete, the cloud is effectively connected to the
ground, and a very bright return stroke propagates back to the cloud at a speed
about one-third the speed of light, following the leader channel. A typical
lightning flash to the ground contains three or four leader-return stroke
sequences in rapid succession. Occasionally, when there is a strike to a
mountain or tall building, the first leader will start at the ground
and propagate upward [2].

Figure 3

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 Figure 4

Causes of lightning
As warm air rises it cools and condenses forming small droplets of water. If
there is enough instability in the air, the updraft of warm air is rapid and the
water vapour will quickly form a cumulonimbus cloud. Typically, these
cumulonimbus clouds can form in under an hour.

As the warm air continues to rise, the water droplets combine to create larger
droplets which freeze to form ice crystals. As a result of circulating air in the
clouds, water freezes on the surface of the droplet or crystal. Eventually, the
droplets become too heavy to be supported by the updraughts of air and they fall
as hail.

As hail moves within the cloud, it picks up a negative charge by rubbing against
smaller positively charged ice crystals. A negative charge forms at the base of
the cloud where the hail collects, while the lighter ice crystals remain near the
top of the cloud and create a positive charge [4].

Voltage and Current Level of Lightning

A typical lightning flash is about 300 million Volts and about 30,000 Amps [5].
The potential difference between cloud and ground is of the order of 10 to 100
million volts, and the peak currents in return strokes to negative leaders are
typically about 30,000 amperes. The peak temperatures in the return-stroke
channel are on the order of 30,000 °C (50,000 °F). The entire process is very

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rapid; the leader stroke reaches the ground in about 30 milliseconds, and the
return stroke reaches the centre of the cloud in about 100 microseconds. During
this stage, approximately 105 joules of energy per metre are dissipated within
the lightning channel. This sudden dissipation splits air molecules in the channel
—principally those of nitrogen, oxygen, and water—into their respective atoms,
and, on average, one electron is removed from each atom. The conversion from
neutral air molecules to a completely ionized plasma occurs in a few
microseconds [2].

Lightning’s partner
Temperatures in the narrow lightning channel reach about 25,000°C. The
surrounding air is rapidly heated, causing it to expand violently at a rate faster
than the speed of sound, similar to a sonic boom. At about 10 m out from the
channel, it becomes an ordinary sound wave called thunder.

Thunder is effectively exploding air, and when heard close to the lightning
channel, it consists of one large bang. At about 1 km away, it is heard as a
rumble with several loud claps. Distant thunder has a characteristic low-pitched
rumbling sound. However, beyond 16 km, thunder is seldom heard.

What Causes thunder?

In a fraction of a second, lightning heats the air around it to incredible
temperatures—as hot as 54,000 °F (30,000 °C). That's five times hotter than the
surface of the Sun!
The heated air expands explosively, creating a shockwave as the surrounding air
is rapidly compressed. The air then contracts rapidly as it cools. This creates an
initial CRACK sound, followed by rumbles as the column of air continues to
vibrate [6].
If we are watching the sky, we see the lightning before we hear the thunder.
That is because light travels much faster than sound waves.

Lightning Rod
A lightning rod or lightning conductor is a metal rod mounted on a structure and
intended to protect the structure from a lightning strike. If lightning hits the
structure, it will preferentially strike the rod and be conducted to ground
through a wire, instead of passing through the structure, where it could start a
fire or cause electrocution. Lightning rods are also called finials, air terminals,
or strike termination devices.

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 Figure 5

In a lightning protection system, a lightning rod is a single component of the

system. The lightning rod requires a connection to earth to perform its
protective function. Lightning rods come in many different forms, including
hollow, solid, pointed, rounded, flat strips, or even bristle brush-like. The main
attribute common to all lightning rods is that they are all made of conductive
materials, such as copper and aluminium. Copper and its alloys are the most
common materials used in lightning protection.

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References

[1] NESTA, "Thunder and Lightning," UCAR Center for Science Education, 2019. [Online]. Available:
https://scied.ucar.edu/learning-zone/storms/thunder-and-lightning.

[2] T. E. o. E. Britannica, "lightning," 27 may 1999. [Online]. Available:

https://www.britannica.com/biography/C-T-R-Wilson.

[3] P. Kesten, "When Lightning Strikes," 22 June 2018. [Online]. Available:

https://www.scu.edu/illuminate/thought-leaders/phil-kesten/when-lightning-
strikes.html#:~:text=Air%20molecules%20and%20suspended%20water,bottom%20layers%20of
%20the%20clouds..

[4] "What Causes Thunder and Lightning," Met Office, [Online]. Available:
https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/weather/learn-about/weather/types-of-weather/thunder-and-
lightning/what-causes-thunder-lightning#:~:text=When%20the%20attraction%20becomes
%20too,accompanying%20loud%20clap%20of%20thunder..

[5] N. O. a. A. A. N. W. S. US Dept of Commerce, "How Powerful is Lightning," 2022. [Online].

Available: https://www.weather.gov/safety/lightning-power#:~:text=Weather.gov%20%3E
%20Safety%20%3E%20How,120%20Volts%20and%2015%20Amps..

[6] J. Jensenius. [Online]. Available: https://scijinks.gov/lightning/.

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