Lightning is one of nature's most powerful and deadly forces. Lightning is generally thought to come from the sky, but not so...
Lightning occurs when a current flows between areas of opposite electrical charge, within a cloud, between two clouds, or between the cloud and the ground. During the course of a thunderstorm, electrical charges in the cloud become seperated. A large area of negative charge builds up in the region of the cloud with temperatures near 5 degrees F (around 10-15 thousand feet). Positive charges build up on the ground and below the cloud base. Air is generally not a good conductor of electricity. When the attraction between the positive and negative charges grows strong enough to overcome the air's naturally high resistance to electrical flow, the negative charges begin zigzagging downward in a forked pattern. This is called the stepped leader. As the stepped leader gets closer to the ground, a streamer of positive charge moves upward toward it, climbing houses, trees, buildings, utility poles, etc.. When the stepped leader and the streamer come into contact, a powerful electrical current flows. This is the return stroke, a wave of positive charge traveling upward. This is the lightning stroke we see. The return stroke is traveling very fast, about 1/3 the speed of light. It all happens in less than the blink of an eye. The speed of the return stroke, along with the downward forks of the stepped leader trick our eyes into thinking that the stroke is coming down rather than moving up. The entire process may be repeated several times in less than half a second, which makes the lightning flicker.
that's how lightning happens. You can estimate how far way the storm is by counting the seconds between the time you see the lightning flash and then hear the following thunderclap, then divide that number by 5. Example: right after you see lightning, start counting (one locamotive...) if the number is 15, then the storm is 3 miles away. You can also know when a storm is coming from the static on your AM radio!
On photographing lightning: Use no higher than 100 speed film. Have a camara with a "B" setting (where you can hold the lens open) and a cable shutter release, and tripod would help. Aim the camera, where the lightning is occuring and press the cable release and leave it open as long as you'd like. Taken lightning pictures during a day storm is hard, I've tried, none of them turned out. But at night it's perfect.
Types of Lightning
