Science Common Sense

638 - How does static electricity cause lightning?

Imagine you rub a balloon against your hair, and then the balloon sticks to the wall. This is because of static electricity, where the rubbing makes tiny particles (called electrons) jump from your hair to the balloon.

Something similar happens in the sky when clouds move and rub against each other, creating static electricity. The electrons jump from one cloud to another, and they build up a big difference in electricity charges between the clouds and the ground.

Eventually, this difference becomes so strong that it creates a path for the electricity to flow from the cloud to the ground - that's lightning. The lightning is like a giant spark of electricity that breaks through the air, creating the bright flash and the loud thunder we hear.