Lightning is a massive spark of electricity that occurs between the atmosphere and the ground, or within the atmosphere
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Lightning strikes can cause cardiac arrest and severe burns, but 9 of every 10 people survive
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But did you know that a lightning bolt is more than five times hotter than the surface of the Sun? Find out more in subsequent slides
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According to National Weather Service of NOAA, if an object is a good conductor of electricity, it won't heat up as much as a poor conductor
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Air is a very poor conductor of electricity and gets extremely hot when lightning passes through it
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A flash can heat the air around it to 27,760 degrees Celsius. The surface temperature of the Sun is around 5,500 degrees Celsius
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The extreme heat causes surrounding air to rapidly expand and vibrate, which creates the pealing thunder, according to National Geographic
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There are several types of lightning: Cloud-to-ground in which a channel of negative charge zigzags downward in a 'forked' pattern
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Some types of lightning never leave the clouds but travel between differently charged areas within or between clouds. It is called Intracloud lightning
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Other forms include sprites, blue jets, elves, anvil crawlers, bead lightning and ribbon lightning