Question

If air and cloud were good conductors of electricity, do you think
lightning could occur? Explain.


NCERT Class VIII
Science - Exemplar Problems

Chapter 15. Some Natural Phenomena

Answer 1

Air and clouds are not very good conductors of electricity. They can be good but under some specific circumstances which are; when there is a high amount of charge or potential difference in the air, then the clouds can become conducting discharge which will help cause the lightning.

If the clouds and air both were the good conductors of electricity, then its group will simply be discharged, whether it was high in amount or small.

So with the above-mentioned theory, there is no chance of discharge of the huge amount of electric charge and also no possibility of lightning.

Answer 2

Air and cloud have a relationship which can be good under a few and very limited situations for example when there is a very high potential difference in the air and in the clouds, this situation can make the clouds and air a good conductor. But if this difference was not present and cloud and air could be a good conductor then this group would have been discharged.

So if we consider this situation or not, either way, the air and cloud both are not good conductors for each other, as they have completely different properties.