Why Does It Thunder and Lightning?


Lightning is caused by electricity. We can’t see electricity, but we can use these magnets to learn about it. Magnets has positive and negative side. When we put two magnets next to each other, it comes together. That’s because the positive side of one magnet attracts the negative side of the other. Opposites attract. When we use the other end, the two magnets push apart. That is because the sides of the magnets with the same sign do not attract. Now that you know little about positive and negative, let’s see what they have to do with electricity. Look at the cloud. A cloud is made up of many, many drops of water. When the drops get big and heavy, they fall toward the earth as rain. Some of the drops have a positive charge of electricity. Some of them have a negative charge. Let’s look inside the cloud. When a group of drops with a positive charge comes near a group with a negative charge, a large electrical spark is cause. Then we see a flash of lightning jump between the two groups of drops. It is just like the magnets-opposites attract. This same thing can happen between two different clouds that come near each other. If a group of drops in one cloud has a positive charge and a group in the other cloud has a negative charge, lightning can jump between the clouds! Sometimes lightning jumps from a storm cloud to the ground. The earth and a group of drops in the cloud attract each other because they have opposite charges. Lightning is powerful and, at times, very dangerous.
Thunder is just a lot of noise. It’s nothing to be afraid of. Air is made up of tiny parts called molecules. When lightning flashes, it gives off a lot of heat. This heat makes the molecules start to move and bounce. Soon the heated molecules bump into molecules of cold air and make a big air wave. This wave is the sound of thunder we hear after we see a flash of lightning! So thunder is just a lot of harmless noise.

Review:
The drops of water in a cloud can have a positive or a negative charge. When two opposite charges come near each other, a large spark of electricity happens and we see a flash of lightning! As the lightning heats the air, the molecules bounce together and make a great air wave-the sound of thunder! And it’s harmless!