lightning

[jenny27]

how many atoms make up a lightning bolt?

this is a question on my 6th graders homework, I have looked everywhere for an answer, please help.

thanks

[jenny27]

thanks for your help, I was thinking the same thing because electrons are made up of atoms, but there isnt really a specific #. thanks again

[New Forester]

As Ansteyg says, lightning is a discharge of "static" electricity.  It is very large numbers of electrons passing at near light-speed along a channel of air which has become ionised (so making it conduct).

 

So in that way the answer is no atoms -- it is electrons passing along ions.  Ions are atoms or molecules which have lost or gained charge.

 

(What is sixth grade...?  I'm not sure how difficult your homework is likely to be).

 

Because in another way ions are still atoms... The number of ions involved will be quite hard to calculate.  You need to know the average length and diameter of a lightning bolt (so getting the volume), then from the density of air, work out the number of atoms in the air enclosed by that volume (easy so far...).  Though the air is super-heated, so it will be much less dense than usual.  Then you need to know what proportion of the molecules in that air are ionised, and so are participating in the "bolt". 

 

I'm afraid I don't know any of these numbers, except the length -- up to a mile or two (you can calculate a minimum length by counting the time from the beginning to the end of a roll of thunder, if the bolt is going towards or away from you).

[New Forester]

Hold on, Jenny!  Don't hand it in yet!

 

Electrons are not made up of atoms.  Atoms are made up of protons and neutrons in a nucleus, plus electrons (the same number as the protons) floating about near the nucleus.  Ions have a few more or less electrons.  Electrons can be passed from ion to ion.

[jenny27]

thanks everyone, man 6th grade is more difficult than I remember.

thanks again

[twiglet4frog]

surely it is a simple answer? such as none or one because if it were more then you are ending up with the old how long is a piece of string question. can every lightning bolt hold exact numbers of atoms?

I would switch to sports now why u are still able to hehe

[New Forester]

Twiglet --

 

"How many" does not necessarily mean an exact number, does it?  "How many miles to the sun?": 93 million -- that's only to the nearest million at best.

 

It's like the old story of the museum attendant who says the T rex skeleton is 70,000,005 years old.  Why the five -- how can we be so accurate?  Well of course, it was 70 million when it arrived, and that was five years ago...

[Octavius]

Are you sure they wrote the question down correctly?