A Wonderleaf question
Why does lightning happen?
a real page from the book
Lightning happens when a storm cloud builds up separated electric charges. Ice and hail inside the cloud collide, leaving some regions more negative and others more positive. When the pull between those charges becomes strong enough, electricity forces a path through the air, making the bright flash.
The heat along that path is enormous, so the nearby air bursts outward quickly, and that sudden shove is thunder. Many flashes stay tucked inside the cloud, while some reach the ground after faint leaders from cloud and earth finally meet.
Wonder words
- charge
- electrons
- thunder
- static
Try it out
Rub a balloon or sock on your hair, then watch tiny bits of paper jump toward the static charge.
Read the whole picture book
Watercolour scenes, straight answers, about three minutes cover to cover.
Open the picture bookKeep wondering
And the next question?
Ask anything — Wonderleaf writes and illustrates a picture book for it. That's the whole idea.
Ask your own question