Since lightning is a powerful natural phenomenon, lightning can be expected to reach very high voltages and electric currents. But what are these values?
Being a very powerful natural phenomenon, lightning reaches very high values when it comes to many of its physical properties, including the electric current charged, its voltage and its temperature.
Have you ever thought about how many volts lightning has? And what is the electric current of lightning? Find out in this article!
What is the lightning voltage?
Lightning typically has around 100 million volts, but this value can be as high as a billion. This happens because air is not a good conductor electricity; therefore, a very high electrical voltage must arise between the clouds and the ground.
This high value is reached by the gradual accumulation of positive electric charges in the cloud and the consequent concentration of negative charges on the ground. Once the tension is great enough to overcome the resistance offered by the air, yours dielectric strength – lightning may occur.
What is voltage?
Although it is a measurement that appears frequently in everyday life – in the values of 110 and 220 V in sockets, for example – do you know what a volt means? Voltage is a popular name for electrical voltage, a measurement that indicates the difference in electric potential between two points. It refers to how much energy the system is capable of carrying.
To understand the concept, it is possible to compare voltage to a road: by doubling the number of lanes, twice as many vehicles could travel on it, at the same speed. By doubling the voltage, the same electric current can carry twice as much energy.
The name of the unit, volt, was chosen in honor of the Italian scientist Alessandro Volta, known as the inventor of the electric battery.
What is the electric current of lightning?
Calculations show that the electric current of lightning is typically between 5 and 30 thousand amperes, but currents as high as 200,000 A have been reported. About 100 quintillion — 100 trillion — of electrons are moved during these electrical discharges, and temperatures reach they can reach 8,000 to 30,000 ºC.
Difference between voltage and current
Electric current refers to the orderly movement of electrons through a material. Even if a material has free electrons, without this one-way movement, there is no electric charge flowing through the material.
When a voltage is applied between two points, as is the case in the two holes of an electrical outlet – or in the case of a lightning strike, between the clouds and the earth – the electrons begin to move from the negative pole to the positive pole. Electric current is measured in amperes, a unit named after the French physicist André-Marie Ampère.
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Source: Terra
Rose James is a Gossipify movie and series reviewer known for her in-depth analysis and unique perspective on the latest releases. With a background in film studies, she provides engaging and informative reviews, and keeps readers up to date with industry trends and emerging talents.
