• Question: can you measure the diameter of a lightning bolt and why does lightning fork

    Asked by 439susa26 to Ahmed, Francesca, George, James, Nitheen on 13 Nov 2014.
    • Photo: James Sullivan

      James Sullivan answered on 13 Nov 2014:

      Hi, great question,

      People measure the thickness of lightening bolts by looking at the burn marks they make when they strike. They’re normally between 3 and 40 mm thick.

      I wasn’t sure why they forked – but this person has a fairly detailed answer to that.

      http://askville.amazon.com/lightning-fork/AnswerViewer.do?requestId=481967

    • Photo: Ahmed Osman

      Ahmed Osman answered on 17 Nov 2014:

      Considering that a lightning bolt consists of negatively and positively charged particles, a lightning bolt is no wider than a single elementary particle (protons or electrons, depending on the type of lightning bolt), which is very, very small. Lightning bolts seem to be wider due to their luminosity. The bolt is not as wide as it appears when illuminated.

      why does lightning fork?

      Lightning does follow the path of least resistance but it may not be by the shortest route. The atmosphere between the thundercloud and the ground will have varying and localized levels of conductivity or resistance which will influence the lightning’s journey hence its non linear path.
      hope it is clear now
      thanks
      Ahmed

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