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Are thunder and lightning the same thing?

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Lightning is a powerful electrical discharge with voltages running to millions and currents up to tens of thousands of kilovolts. The temperature of the path of lightning is considered to be again a few tens of thousands (typical being around 30 kilo Kelvin, or around 30,000 Celsius). read more

Thunder and lightning are not the same phenomenon, though both are caused by the same event. As a cloud equalizes its electric charge with the ground, the current must pass through a column of air. Air is not a perfect conductor of electricity, so some of the energy is lost to heat as the charge travels downward. read more

Lightning is the sudden electrostatic discharge between clouds, between clouds and the ground, or between difference regions of the same cloud. Thunder is the resulting sound of the rapidly heated air caused by the lightning discharge. read more

Thunder is the acoustic shock wave resulting from the extreme heat generated by a lightning flash. Lightning can be as hot as 54,000°F (30,000°C), a temperature that is five times the surface of the sun! When lightning occurs, it heats the air surrounding its channel to that same incredible temperature in a fraction of a second. read more

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