Flexi Says: Lightning is a result of charge separation between positive and negative ice particles in a thunderstorm. The smaller and lighter positive particles rise above the larger and heavier negative particles. A strong electrical potential builds up within the cloud and between the cloud and the ground. When the electrical discharge occurs, the air in the vicinity is rapidly heated to extremely high temperatures, which can reach over 20,000 degrees Celsius! The brightness of the lightning bolt is due to both the extreme heating of gas molecules in the air and the excitation of electrons in the gas molecules. As electrons fall back to their stable energy states, they release photons. The blue hue often seen in a lightning bolt comes from electrons in nitrogen atoms. The super heated air also produces a shock wave which expands outward. We hear this shock wave as the sound of thunder.
