Since the days of our forefathers, man has always been curious about the mysteries of nature. One such majestic force of nature is none other than a flash of lightning. Lightning are formed naturally from the simple physics of attraction between two differently charged surfaces. A lightning is simply a path to 'join' these two surfaces, which are obviously the surface of the ground and the surfaces of the clouds. A lightning bolt carries with it some 20,000 amperes of electrical current, with a surface temperature as hot and intense as the surface of the sun and with enough total energy to create a supersonic boom 200 miles or more in radius. But what actually is lightning? Does lightning travel upwards or downwards? Does it have anything to do with Zeus? Why is it's purpose? To instill fear in us? or is it just nature's way of 'jazzing' things up? Hmmmmm...the question remains...but not for long.
Until recently, scientists have discovered some awesome facts about lightning. Governments and many other private agencies have spent millions of dollars worth of money into research and study of the creation and the behaviour of lightning. There may be many questions still left unanswered, but sufficient knowledge on lightning has been attained and it's our job to deliver them to you. For a start, lightning is three-dimensional- it 'zigs' and 'zags' in all directions. Most of the time, you'll view a lightning channel from the side, and it'll appear to travel in one general direction only. However, if that lightning bolt (or parts of the lightning bolt) is coming straight at you (that is, you are looking at it from one end), it will appear to loop back on itself, sometimes even appearing go back upwards. But hold on, here's another interesting fact: lightning is white, sometimes with a blue tint. In the same way that sunsets have many colors, faraway lightning can appear yellow, purple, red, orange, even green! So, don't hesitate to explore further into our in depth research, click below to continue: