New Delhi: When it rains, we sometimes hear a loud noise from the clouds. This may sometimes lead to curiosity as to how the noise is made. Not all clouds make thundering noises. In this article, let us learn about why clouds make thunder noises and what makes them so loud. We will also look at what clouds make thunder noises.
Science Behind Thunder and Lightning
Not every cloud can produce thunder and lightning. Thunderclouds are tall, but you can only see their bottoms from the ground. Above that, they stretch high into the sky.
Clouds are made of tiny water droplets. High up in the sky, it is very cold, which causes ice crystals to form inside the clouds. The ice crystals move to the top of the cloud, while the water droplets stay near the bottom. When they move and touch each other, they create static electricity.
You can create static electricity by rubbing a balloon on your hair, which makes your hair stand up. If you wear socks and rub your feet on a carpet, you might feel a small shock when you touch someone else. That is also static electricity.
The static electricity in the cloud charges the ice crystals positively and the water droplets negatively. It is like magnets: A magnet’s positive side is attracted to another magnet’s negative side, but they push away from each other if they are the same. The same principle applies to the negatively charged water droplets at the bottom of the thundercloud.
Negative particles that collect near the bottom of the cloud are called electrons. Positive particles gather under the thundercloud because they are attracted to electrons.
This attraction is strong, causing electrons in the cloud to form jagged fingers reaching the ground. When the negative electrons from the cloud connect with the positive particles from the ground, a large current of electrons flows to the earth. This is the lightning flash you see.
The lightning flash heats the air around it very quickly, causing the air to expand. When you heat something, it gets bigger. The air around the lightning expands so fast that it creates a shock wave. This shock wave produces the thunder you hear.
Why Thunder is So Loud and What Causes it
The amount of electrical energy flowing from the cloud to the ground is huge, like a big waterfall of electricity.
The closer you are to the lightning, the louder the thunder sounds. Light moves through the air much faster than sound does. That is why you see the lightning flash first and hear the thunder a few seconds later. If you see the lightning and hear the thunder immediately, the lightning is very close to you.
In News
Delhi-NCR witnessed overnight rainfall, which slightly improved the air quality. However, the rain has added more chill to the winter. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) predicted cloudy skies with light rain and dense fog on Thursday.
Thunderstorms are caused by the buildup of static electricity within tall clouds. Ice crystals and water droplets collide, generating a charge. This charge builds until a powerful discharge occurs—lightning. The rapid heating of air by lightning creates a shockwave, resulting in the loud sound of thunder. knowledge Knowledge News, Photos and Videos on General Knowledge
