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Question:
WHAT CAUSES THUNDER AND LIGHT NING?


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Lightning is caused by a sudden release of electrical energy in a flash of current from the clouds to the ground (or sometimes between the clouds in the air). This electrical energy is caused by the same kind of interactions that result in static electricity between you and your clothes, and lightning is just like those little sparks you sometimes see when you touch a door knob on a dry day. Except much bigger! Thunder is the sound made by the lightning as it sends lots of energy into that little path through the air. There are lots of good books describing lightning - look under "Lightning" in the library!

Arthur Smith


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