Spain lived a few weeks ago, a late spring really stormy and passed through water. Apart from the torrential rains, what most caught the attention of most of the population was the large number of rays that occurred and is that according to official data they were registered up to 22.000 rays. This has caused many people to want to know more about this impressive and dangerous Meteorological phenomenon.
When the rays occur
Rays are nothing more than discharges that are produced from huge amounts of energy that accumulate in the clouds. They usually occur when the temperatures are high and there is a lot of humidity in the air. Are more frequent in summer because hot air is charged by coming into contact with cold air. When the rain falls, the clouds discharge such energy in the form of rays.
How much energy can lightning have
Lightning contains so much energy that it can reach to be mortal. It is calculated that each ray measures about 5 kilometers in length by only 1 centimeter in width, the energy released by a ray can be greater than 5 billion joules of energy with a current of up to 200.000 amps and 100 million volts.
What is the cause of the zig zag movement
This movement so characteristic of the rays is due to the fact that the great charge of the electric fields is ionized causing let them separate the positive ions from the negative ones. This ionization is not uniform and begins to move as if it were a snake and producing the well-known zig zag.
I hope I have clarified some questions about lightning and lightning, as a last curiosity to tell you that the South African city of Johannesburg it's where the most lightning deaths occur each year.