The Spark of Light

Welcome to Malaysia! It is now the rainy season, so we've been having frequent rainstorms...almost daily...nothing too unusual here. You know, at any given time during the day, over 2,000 thunderstorms are occurring on the Earth. Thunderstorms are the atmosphere's way of discharging excess electrical energy by means of dissipating that energy into heat, light, and sound energy.

I have always been captivated by lightning, and i am one of those individuals who would actually like to be outdoors during a rainstorm, just to watch the lightning (which is of course not at all advisable as this is very dangerous). Anyway, just the other day, i was watching lightning flash through the sky above me, when i realized that the frequency of lightning in my area is quite high compared to other areas i have been in. This got me thinking. Are there any reasons why lightning would be stronger is certain places than others? Sure there are.

The reason i found most interesting is that ground rich with minerals, especially metals such as iron, may attract lightning with greater frequency than areas with less mineral content in the ground.

As we know, all objects seek to be in a neutral electrically charged state. Due to the differences in electrical charges, there is a buildup of electrical potential energy between the ground and clouds. Once the energy gets to a certain point, there is a discharge. Thunder and lightning are the result. Therefore thunderclouds are seeking the best conductor of electricity to discharge their electricity. Conductors in the form of metals in the ground attract lightning to discharge this electricity. (I’ve cut this rather elaborate process short. But if you want to know more about it, you can check it out on Google.) Anyway, the interesting point here is that if you are living in an area where the ground is rich with minerals, especially metals; you are more likely to face a worse case scenario of lightning. Be prepared!

Now, while i was looking up this stuff, i stumbled across some other rather interesting information. We are always told to get out of the water or rain during thunderstorms because water conducts electricity. So, what about fish and underwater creatures? Do fish get zapped by lightning?

Well, this is what i found. Fish in creeks are in very shallow water and would be zapped by lightning if it was to hit the water. But these fish don’t get hit much as there are usually trees or something higher up that would attract lightning in that area. A fish in the open ocean waters however, faces a different situation. Salt water conducts electricity especially well (this has to do with the minerals and ions in the water). But when lightning hits the ocean’s surface, the charge dissipates very quickly at the water’s surface and isn’t a big threat to fish. In addition to that, anything floating on the ocean or standing in it – like drilling platforms or ships – would attract lightning more than the surface of the ocean would. So, fish in the sea are quite safe. Isn’t nature interesting?

To my readers: Do you have any lightning stories? Do share them with the rest of us. Oh, and if you’re one of those people who like to admire the beauty of lightning, do tell me, i would really like to know that. Please do keep in mind though that although the spark of light is striking and simply magnificent, it is dangerous and can be fatal.