Understanding Lightning

The video explains the different types of lightning: intra-cloud, inter-cloud, and cloud-to-ground. It explores why lightning takes zigzag paths instead of straight lines, attributing this to singlet delta oxygen molecules. These molecules form conductive columns that alter the electric field, causing the lightning to fork and create its characteristic patterns.

Which type of lightning stays within a single cloud?

• Cloud-to-ground lightning

• Intra-cloud lightning

• Inter-cloud lightning

• Ground-to-cloud lightning

What is the main question researchers have about the path of lightning?

• Why does lightning strike the tallest objects?

• Why is lightning always accompanied by thunder?

• Why does lightning have a zigzag pattern?

• Why does lightning occur only during storms?

What do singlet Delta oxygen molecules form into during lightning formation?

• Non-conductive barriers

• Static electric fields

• Highly conductive columns

• Neutral gas clouds

How do the conductive columns formed by singlet Delta oxygen molecules affect lightning?

• They cause lightning to strike the ground

• They prevent lightning from forming

• They redistribute the electric field

• They make lightning invisible

What is the effect of the redistribution of the electric field by the conductive columns?

• It stops lightning from reaching the ground

• It causes lightning to disappear

• It makes lightning travel in a straight line

• It results in the forking pattern of lightning