Lightning
How Lightning is Formed Lightning is formed in the atmosphere when warm air and cold air meet to create thunderstorm clouds, the water droplets that are contained in the warm clouds and the small ice crystals which are contained in the cold clouds then begin to rub together forming static through friction (NASA). Similar to a battery, the clouds form into positives and negatives, with negatives at the bottom of the cloud and positive at the top, when enough of this energy from molecules rubbing gets stored in the negative side of the cloud it leaks out forming lightning (NASA). Lightning is not forced to move from the cloud to the ground all of the time and jump either from the cloud to the ground or to a nearer lower energy point in another cloud, assuming that the path of resistance is low enough to take in reaching the other cloud or conductive item that is nearby (NASA). Lightning can Strike Airplanes Since lightning is formed high up in the sky where airplanes often fly, it goes