Science's Not Boring

What is thunder and lightning?

July 7 · 10 min · Season 1 · Episode 23 · 7.3 MB
0:00-10:05

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Have you ever wondered why the sky lights up with a giant flash and rumbles with a booming crash during a thunderstorm? Join Mira and Finn as they uncover the shocking, sky-splitting secrets behind thunder and lightning! Did you know that a giant storm cloud acts just like a massive, floating battery? Inside towering Cumulonimbus clouds, freezing ice and water crash together to build up millions of volts of electricity. When it finally escapes, ZAP! It creates a blinding lightning bolt that is actually five times hotter than the surface of the Sun! But where does the thunder come from? You will learn how that intense heat makes the air explode outward at supersonic speed, creating the giant BOOM we hear! Plus, discover a super cool trick to count the seconds and find out exactly how far away a storm really is. We will even travel to a sandy beach to see how lightning turns sand into fossilized glass tubes called fulgurites! Get ready for an electrifying adventure!