<P> Lightning is a sudden electrostatic discharge that occurs during a thunderstorm . This discharge occurs between electrically charged regions of a cloud (called intra-cloud lightning or IC), between two clouds (CC lightning), or between a cloud and the ground (CG lightning). </P> <P> The charged regions in the atmosphere temporarily equalize themselves through this discharge referred to as a flash . A lightning flash can also be a strike if it involves an object on the ground . Lightning creates light in the form of black body radiation from the very hot plasma created by the electron flow, and sound in the form of thunder . Lightning may be seen and not heard when it occurs at a distance too great for the sound to carry as far as the light from the strike or flash . </P> <P> The details of the charging process are still being studied by scientists, but there is general agreement on some of the basic concepts of thunderstorm electrification . The main charging area in a thunderstorm occurs in the central part of the storm where air is moving upward rapidly (updraft) and temperatures range from − 15 to − 25 Celsius, see figure to the right . At that place, the combination of temperature and rapid upward air movement produces a mixture of super-cooled cloud droplets (small water droplets below freezing), small ice crystals, and graupel (soft hail). The updraft carries the super-cooled cloud droplets and very small ice crystals upward . At the same time, the graupel, which is considerably larger and denser, tends to fall or be suspended in the rising air . </P>

Where does the energy in lightning come from
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