The answer is both. Cloud-to-ground (CG) lightning comes from the sky down, but the part you see comes from the ground up. A typical cloud-to-ground flash lowers a path of negative electricity (that we cannot see) towards the ground in a series of spurts.
Where does lightning come from in the sky?
Lightning because negative charges are moving from the cloud to the ground. Sometimes, lightning will come from the upper parts or near the top of the storm, where the positively charged particles are located. These lightning bolts are called positive.
Does Lightning come from the earth or the sky?
Lightning travels from sky to earth. The cloud is at high potential and it induces a opposite potential on the ground objects which is further connected to ground. The lighting in because of very high potential development.
Where does lightening come from, clouds, ground or both?
Lightning can come from the ground as well as clouds Credit: Uk, newsin Pictures In most cases there is cloud-to-ground lightning but what you actually see comes from the ground up. The flash lowers a path of negative electricity, that can’t be seen with the human eye, towards the ground in a series of spurts.
Do lightning comes from the ground?
In most cases there is cloud-to-ground lightning but what you actually see comes from the ground up. The flash lowers a path of negative electricity, that can’t be seen with the human eye, towards the ground in a series of spurts.
One way to think about this is lightning is an electrical discharge usually, but not always, produced by well-developed thunderstorms. Although there is a clear-air lightening phenomena, lightning most frequently occurs within a cloud (intra-cloud), between two clouds(inter-cloud), or from the cloud to the ground.
This of course begs the inquiry “Does Lightning really travel from the ground up?”
Lets dig in. It actually does come from ground up typically a lightning stroke is caused by a step leader that breaks down the insulation of the air, when it reaches the ground the brilliant flash you see is the lightning discharge returning from the ground to its source although in rare cases you can have cloud to ground lightning.
Does lightning strike down or up from the ground?
The “natural” lightning starts in the cloud and travels to ground. The upward strikes start at the “ground,” – which need not be the actual surface of Earth; it may be the top portion of a steel tower – and travels upward into the cloud. There are Cloud-to-ground lightning strikes, but the ‘bolt’ that we see goes from the ground up.
This of course begs the inquiry “What happens when lightning strikes the ground?”
When lightning strikes the ground or an object on the ground, the discharge occurs in and along the ground surface (not deep into the ground). This creates a dangerous and potentially deadly ground current near the lightning strike. Ground current is responsible for killing many farm animals on a yearly basis.
Why does Lightning want to go in the ground?
Heat doesn’t rise. Heat is the random movement of molecules and travels from hot to cold in all directions. Lightning isn’t heat. It’s plasma resulting from air being ionized and superheated by an electric charge jumping between cloud and ground or two clouds. Lightning doesn’t always go down.
You can follow the following steps to protect yourself and others during a storm: Do not stay outdoors when a thunderstorm has started. Always hurry back indoors. Staying safe indoors : Do not touch any electrical appliances or switches with wet hands, and preferably keep the heavy appliances switched off. Help Others: If other people are stranded or stuck outdoors, take them in and help them.