The Earth has gravitational power but still clouds can float which can form a big thundering. Give reason
Answers
Lightning forks and rejoins itself over Table Mountain and Lion's Head in Cape… Read More
PHOTOGRAPH BY LYNDA SMITH, MY SHOT
A dramatic cloudburst releases jagged bolts of lightning deep into the Grand Canyon near Point Sublime.
PHOTOGRAPH BY MICHAEL NICHOLS, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC
Two large lightning bolts strike the ground near Las Cruces, New Mexico. Though human eyes perceive the opposite, lightning moves from the ground up to the cloud.
PHOTOGRAPH BY LIONEL BROWN, GETTY IMAGES
Lightning strikes Kavala, Greece. The ancient Greek god Zeus was said to control lightning, but today we know lightning comes from a difference in electrical charge between clouds and the ground or among clouds.
PHOTOGRAPH BY MAVROUDAKIS FOTIS, MY SHOT
A bolt of lightning strikes the Oriental Pearl TV Tower in Shanghai, China. The antenna on top of the 1535-foot (468-meter) tower caught fire in April 2010, and lightning was thought to be the cause. Lightning bolts can reach temperatures more than 4 times hotter than the sun.
PHOTOGRAPH BY SUNG MING WHANG, MY SHOT
A thunderstorm passes behind the Cochise county courthouse in Arizona. Despite being in a dry part of the country, southeastern Arizona averages 30 to 40 thunderstorms a year.
PHOTOGRAPH BY STEVEN MAGUIRE, MY SHOT
Several bolts of lightning strike the water off the coast of Kavala, Greece. Lightning can strike anything that can become electrically charged—including water.
PHOTOGRAPH BY FOTIS MAVROUDAKIS, MY SHOT
Lightning illuminates the horizon behind a Malaysian cityscape.
PHOTOGRAPH BY AHMED ARUP KAMAL, MY SHOT
Tall towers are frequent targets of lightning strikes, because there is less air to act as an insulator between the tower and a cloud. In this case, it is the Hillbrow Telkom Tower in Johannesburg, South Africa.
PHOTOGRAPH BY THEMBA HADEBE, ASSOCIATED PRESS
The Tucson, Arizona, skyline is illuminated by a bolt of lightning.
PHOTOGRAPH BY RALPH WETMORE, GETTY IMAGES
The inhabitants of a powerboat turn on their lights just as a bolt of lightning hits the ground behind it. Covered, walled structures—not boats—are the best places to take refuge from a thunderstorm.
PHOTOGRAPH BY RICK KIDD, MY SHOT
Saguaro cacti stand in the desert as a thunderstorm rolls overhead. Lightning in dry areas increases the risk of brush fires.
PHOTOGRAPH BY PETE GREGOIRE, MY SHOT
Lightning arcs from the top of a cloud to the horizon off the coast of the Bahamas. Lightning that comes from the top of the cloud can be positive lightning, which is rare but can be significantly more powerful than more common negative lightning. It can also strike farther from the cloud, up to 10 miles (16 kilometers) away.
PHOTOGRAPH BY KARA SWANSON, MY SHOT
Foshan, China, is hit by two simultaneous lightning strikes.
PHOTOGRAPH BY CUI JINGYIN, IMAGINECHINA/AP
REFERENCE
Lightning
Contrary to the common expression, lightning can and often does strike the same place twice.
2 MINUTE READ
Lightning is an electrical discharge caused by imbalances between storm clouds and the ground, or within the clouds themselves. Most lightning occurs within the clouds.
"Sheet lightning" describes a distant bolt that lights up an entire cloud base. Other visible bolts may appear as bead, ribbon, or rocket lightning.
During a storm, colliding particles of rain, ice, or snow inside storm clouds increase the imbalance between storm clouds and the ground, and often negatively charge the lower reaches of storm clouds. Objects on the ground, like steeples, trees, and the Earth