Lightning develops between the clouds and the ground. Elaborate.

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Solution

The positive charges collect near the upper edges of the clouds and the negative charges accumulate near the lower edges. There is an accumulation of positive charges near the ground also. When the magnitude of the accumulated charges becomes very large, the air which is normally a poor conductor of electricity is no longer able to resist their flow. Negative and positive charges meet, producing streaks of bright light and sound. We see streaks as lightning. The process is called an electric discharge.

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Similar questions

Consider the following statements:
I. Lightning occurs between the Earth and the clouds
II. Lightning occurs between the same clouds
III. Lightning occurs due to the discharge between charged clouds and the Earth
Among the given statements,

Q. Ground-to-cloud lightning is also known as lightning.

Q. Which of the following statements is incorrect with respect to lightning between clouds?

Q. During storms clouds get changed. The dielectric breakdown of air is

3 \times 10^{6}

V/m and there is a cloud of area

0.5 k m^{2}

which is 500 m above ground. This cloud induces an opposite charge on ground due to which this cloud-ground system behaves as a parallel plate capacitor.

Q. State whether the given statement is True or False :

Lightning conductor always develops the opposite charges as is the charge in the clouds.

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