🗲 Stay Current and Charge Ahead!  🗲

Lightning is a powerful burst of electricity caused by imbalances between storm clouds and the ground, or within the clouds themselves. 

In the early stages of a developing storm, air acts as an insulator between the positive and negative charges in the cloud and between the cloud and the ground.  When the opposite charges build up enough, the insulating capacity of the air breaks down and there is a rapid discharge of electricity which is known as lightning. 

A distant bolt that lights up an entire cloud base is called sheet lightning.  Other visible bolts of lightning may appear as bead, ribbon or rocket lightning. 

A single stroke of lightning can heat the air it passes through to 30,000°C or 54,000 degrees Fahrenheit which is 5 times hotter than the surface of the sun.  This extreme heat causes the air to expand creating a shock wave that turns into a booming sound wave, known as thunder. 

Sometimes it is possible to see lightning but no thunder is heard. This is because the atmospheric conditions lead to sound bending upwards and away from the surface or the lightning is too far away.  Thunder is rarely heard more than 20 km away.

Lightning has a distinctive blue-white colour.  This is caused by the light emitted as the electrons drop back to their original energy states.  Seen from above, lightning storms also produce emissions of blue or red light above the clouds.  These are known as jets and sprites.

If you are near a lightning strike, the flow of electrons can enter your body and could result in cardiac arrest. This flow of electrons is called an electric current.  If the current enters and leaves your body without going through your thoracic cavity, it might just cause a severe burn or flesh wound. 

Most often, direct strikes occur to people who are in open areas.  When you hear thunder you are already within range of where the next ground flash may occur.  Seek shelter if possible.

Lightning often strikes water.  Water conducts electricity which means the currents from a lightning strike can cause serious injury or even kill you.  Most of the electrical discharge occurs near the surface and since most fish swim below the surface they are unaffected. It is very dangerous to be swimming or boating during a thunderstorm.  It is a good idea to avoid the pool, beach or any other large body of water when you hear thunder or see lightning.

These are the sayings found on the bookmark called Advice from Lightning.

• Stay current

• Follow the flash of inspiration

• Spark new ideas

• Strike out on your own

• Light up the night

• Know when to bolt

• Charge ahead!

Here are my comments about each of these sayings. 

• Stay current - Be well informed and be willing to make changes as conditions change.

• Follow the flash of inspiration - Inspiration is a feeling of enthusiasm you receive which gives you a new idea. If you have a flash of inspiration it means you get a sudden idea that can help you create or achieve what you were hoping to do.  Follow that new idea that pops into your head.

• Spark new ideas - It only takes a spark to get a fire going …

• Strike out on your own - Start doing something new.

• Light up the night - Brighten or illuminate something.  Let your light shine!

• Know when to bolt - A lightning bolt has stood for speed, power, and danger.  Sometimes a little fun too!  🗲

• Charge ahead! - Move forward! Keep making progress.

Have a great day everyone!  Stay current and charge ahead!  🗲

# living life abundantly   # published author  # travelling tuesdays