I’ve always been fascinated by thunderstorms. Can someone explain why we see lightning before we hear thunder, and what exactly causes both of these phenomena?
In: Physics
I haven’t seen the actual lightning flash addressed – the electrical discharge ionizes the molecules in and around the arc path from the cloud to the ground. So you have a bunch of positively and negatively charged atoms that want to go back to neutral. The notice each other and snap back – switching electrons. This snapping creates the flash you see by vibrating in the visible light spectrum.
Interestingly enough, it is the SAME thing that happens with a meteor trail, except the air molecules are energized by frictional heat heat of the meteor passing through the atmosphere. The light of the trail is these ionized molecules snapping back to neutral. The meteor trail lasts longer and is less bright however, because it is happing in the upper atmosphere where everything is less dense, so it takes longer for the ions to find each other – they are fewer and farther apart. So the light isn’t as blinding as lightning and doesn’t happen as quickly.
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