How lightning is hotter than the surface of the sun – Explained!
Amazing Facts : Lightning Is Hotter Than the Surface of the Sun
Have you ever seen a lightning bolt streaking across the sky and wondered how powerful it really is? Here’s something for you to think about. Lightning is hotter than the surface of the Sun.
How Hot Is Lightning Compared to the Sun?
A lightning bolt can reach temperatures of 30,000 Kelvins (and more). This is more than five times hotter than the Sun’s surface which is around 5,500 Kelvins. This is because lightning is a massive electrical discharge. When it occurs, the air around it heats and expands explosively, producing what we hear as thunder.
Lightning can last only a fraction of a second, but during that fraction, it becomes hotter than the Sun’s surface, making it one extreme natural event on our planet.
Why Lightning Gets So Hot
Tiny water droplets and ice particles interact within a thundercloud. This results in a great build up of electric charges. Eventually, the top of the cloud becomes positively charged while the bottom holds negatively charged particles. Once the positive and negative charges differ enough, the energy gets unleashed, creating lightning.
This phenomenon creates a narrow channel in the cloud while temperatures increase exponentially. This is highly dangerous and behaves like a powerful wire, but thousands of times more powerful.
Lightning Facts You Should Know
- A bolt of lightning can contain 1 billion volts of electricity.
- A bolt of lightning can strike the same location more than once.
- There are 2,000 thunderstorms occurring simultaneously around the globe.
- Lightning strikes increase during the monsoons in India.
Final Thought
Next time when you see a lightning bolt, consider that for a short while, a celestial bolt was more than hotter than a sun. It is a natural wonder that is taking place just above us.
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