The Lightning Strike

23 The Lightning Strike We were playing in the tree house in our backyard when my mother came running from the house yelling, “ Get out of the tree! Hurry! " A huge storm was rolling in. We had just got inside when there was a loud hiss in the air. A blinding light suddenly filled our house. Then, it was over. All that could be heard was the rain and rumbling in the distance. When we looked in the backyard, we saw smoke coming off the oak tree. It had been hit by lightning! We were really frightened to see what lightning can do. The next day at school, I told my teacher what I had experienced. I asked him many questions about lightning. Mr. Neil said that lightning is an abrupt electric discharge from one cloud to another, or from one cloud to the earth. The discharge is the result of the buildup of electrical energy between positively and negatively charged areas.

" All matter is made up of atoms, " he explained. " An atom contains a positively charged nucleus and negatively charged electrons that orbit the nucleus. If you rub two different objects together, such as your pen and your hair, electrons may be transferred from one object to the other. The one that gains extra electrons becomes negatively charged. The other is positively charged. " This was really interesting. My teacher continued, " When many small bits of raindrops bump into each other as they move around in the air, electrical charges gather at the top of the cloud. Negative charges form at the bottom of the cloud. Since opposites attract, this causes a positive charge to build up on the ground beneath the cloud. The ground's electrical charge concentrates around anything that sticks up, such as mountains, people or trees. The charge coming up from these points eventually connects with a charge reaching down from the clouds and then, lightning strikes! " Mr. Neil told us that lightning can heat up the air to 30, 000 degrees Kelvin. That's six times hotter than the surface of the sun! Now I see why lightning strikes the highest object, and why it's dangerous to stay under a tree during a thunderstorm.