Lightning bolts reach temperatures of 30,000°C, which is five times hotter than the sun's surface (5,500°C), because the enormous electrical energy required to force electrons through air as a poor conductor heats the channel almost instantaneously; this superheated air expands explosively after the lightning passes, creating the thunder we hear.
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Did You Know that a Lightning Bolt is 5 Times Hotter than the Sun?Added:
Did you know a lightning bolt is five times hotter than the sun? The surface of the sun is 5,500 degrees Celsius. A lightning bolt reaches 30,000 degrees for 30 microseconds, five times hotter than the sun. Lightning is a massive electrical discharge, which means electrons are forced through air by an enormous voltage difference between cloud and ground. But air is a terrible conductor. Forcing current through it requires extreme energy. That energy heats the lightning channel almost instantaneously. The air cannot expand fast [music] enough. It superheats to 30,000 degrees in a channel 2 cm wide.
The thunder you hear is that superheated air expanding explosively outward after the lightning passes.
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