Down From The Heavens It Rains Light
John Nickolas
From the clouds to a nearby tree or roof, a lightning bolt takes only a few thousandths of a second
to split through the air.
The heat from the electricity of this raises the temperature.
the surrounding air crackles,
suddenly energized.
silence:
the hunter lines up
his shot; sitting there,
waiting patiently for his prey to come in sight.
One last breath before a quick squeeze, followed by a deafening
crack.
The compressed air explodes outward from the channel, forming a shock wave of compressed particles in every direction.
It was the Norse god Thor, the Greek god Zeus, and the Roman god Jupiter who wielded the mighty bolt of lightning to keep man in his place.
the attraction of positive and negative charges in our atmosphere act in an opposing manner, leaving us with a striking beam of light;
lightning.
- Science Reference Section. “What Causes the Sound of Thunder?” Library of
Congress, 19 Nov. 2019, www.loc.gov/everyday-mysteries. Accessed 24 Feb. 2021.
- Vavrik, R. James. “The Science of Thunder.” National Lightning Safety Institute,
www.lightningsafety.com/nlsi_info/thunder2.html. Accessed 24 Feb. 2021.
- Robertson, Bill. “Science 101.” Science and Children, vol. 43, no. 8, 2006, pp. 56–59. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/43173998. Accessed 24 Feb. 2021.