how does lightning work?
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http://science.howstuffworks.com/lightning.htm
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Glass is non-conductive and was used as an insulator in homes and electric poles.  Since glass is non-conductive, lightning is not attracted to it and will not strike it.\n\nIf lightning could somehow be induced to strike glass, the most likely result would be that the bolt would melt a hole through the glass and continue to something more conductive on the other side.  There is very little chance that the glass would catch fire as silica (the basic material of glass) is not considered to be a flammable material.
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Lightening (which causes the thunder) is caused by a static electrical charge build up inside very high clouds. The static build up is caused by the collision and rubbing of small ice particles way up in the clouds. If these particles get big enough they will fall down and depending on the temperature outside will either melt into rain, or could initiate crystal formation (snow).\n\nSo you see, there is nothing about whether its rain or snow that effects the mechanism of lightning generation. The reason that it is less common in the winter is that in order to produce the very high lightning generating clouds (anvil-topped cummilonimbus [sorry if spelt wrong!]) it requires very strong updrafts - This is more likely in the summer when the hot sun beating down heats air rapidly so it shoots up fast. But there are conditions in winter that can have the same effect (like collision between warm and cold fronts).
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If you study the details of lightening, u will find that there are some strikes that are between the clouds. Some hit the earth. There is some detailed mechnisms described in books. There u will find terms like pilot leader, streamers, etc.\n\nWhen the lightning occurs, the air gets ionised. So, even if u capture a  Lightening in your tower, the air will become an ionised conductor, so the charge will go to thwe ground. \n\nThe strike from ground occurs as well as the strike from the cloud. \n\nAbove all it is not feasible.\n\nThank you.
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Lightning is a powerful natural electrostatic discharge produced during a thunderstorm. This abrupt electric discharge is accompanied by the emission of visible light and other forms of electromagnetic radiation. The electric current passing through the discharge channels rapidly heats and expands the air into plasma, producing acoustic shock waves (thunder) in the atmosphere.\n\n\nThe saying "lightning never strikes twice in the same place" is false. The Empire State Building is struck by lightning on average 100 times each year, and was once struck 15 times in 15 minutes.\n\n\nk.m.
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Lightning are actually sparks produced when water molecules in the clouds rub against each other, producing friction and therefore heat.  This creates positive and negative charges and they always seek to attract each other.  (like a magnet)\n\nThus, lightning can acutally shoot anywhere it wants to, as long as there is a negative in one place and a positive charge in the other.  Lightning also tends to hit the closest object within range.  Contrast to popular belief, metallic objects do not attract lightning.  They just conduct the electricity better than other insulators, and of course, the shock will be greater.
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Lightning can be any color. It is reflected off things that are near it, so it could be any color.
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You have probably experienced static electricity. It's the charge that you create when you scuff your feet on a rug. Then when you touch a doorknob, you get a small shock. That's static electricity. \n\n    The reason why it works is a little more complicated. To start, you have to know that every object is made up of billions of tiny particles, called protons and electrons. These particles are so small they can only be seen with special microscopes. \n\n    Despite their small size, protons and electrons carry an electrical charge. Protons carry a "positive" charge, while electrons carry a "negative" energy charge. \n\n    Usually, the two different charges balance each other out, and nothing happens. But when two objects with like charges (all positive or all negative) come together, the charges repel and the objects move away from each other. Objects with opposite charges attract each other because the different charges want to enter a state of balance with each other. \n\n    Objects can get a negative charge by picking up electrons from other objects. For example, when your shoes scuff against the rug, your shoes are actually picking up electrons from the rug. The electrons fly over your body, giving you a negative charge. \n\n    Your new electrons fly over your body because they are looking for a positive charge. If you touch a metal doorknob, the electrons on your body will leap into the metal, attracted by the protons there. The transfer of electrons is actually a small electrical current, and produces the tiny electric shock you feel. \n\n    Lightning is like static electricity, except on a much bigger scale. Both lightning and static electricity happen because of the attraction between the opposite charges.
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Some clouds contain +ve charge & some contain -ve. When both clouds come together in contact, they produce electricity which is the lightning.......
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Hurricanes typically don't produce much lightning, but sometimes they can.\n\nHere is a website with some investigation about this.\n\n http://science.nasa.gov/newhome/headlines/essd16jun99_1.htm
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Lightning occurs in different forms.  Forecasters note the occurance of lightning as in-cloud, cloud-to-cloud, cloud-to-ground and cloud-to-air.  The most frequently occuring form is cloud-to-cloud lighting. Cloud-to-ground lighting occurs only about 20 percent of the time.
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Some of these answers are good ones.  Clouds are charged, scientists can't agree why.  The tops of clouds are positively charged, the bottoms are negatively charged.  The negative charge at the bottom of the cloud repels negative ions in the earth's surface, which gives it a positive charge.  There are things called leaders and step leaders that seek out a path to relieve the difference in electrical potential.  As they reach out, then 'streamers' are generated on the opposing surface, like the ground, in response to the growing electrical field.  When these two meet this prepares the way for a lightning strike.  Usually this happens from cloud-to-ground, but it can also happen ground-to-cloud.\n\nOne of the best descriptions of how lightning strikes work can be found at http://science.howstuffworks.com/lightning5.htm
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natural LIGHTING comes from the sun,\notherwise, usually from an electric light bulb\n\nHowever, LIGHTNING, is a dual attraction between the sky and the ground, but physically speaking the negative charge in the sky is seeking out a positive charge on the ground, the LIGHTNING comes FROM THE SKY.\nHowever, you may not often see this and since there is a return of the lightning energy back up to the sky, (to balance the energy) so if you look after the sound of thunder you are seeing the return.
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Lightning is nothing but charge travelling from a place of high potential to one of lower potential. So its a bunch of  ions (it could be positive/negative ions ) in there, colliding against the air molecules as they try and make their way from one place to the other. The collisions are what give rise to the light. \n\nBe that as it may, the travel of ions is a very random process. They will normally try and take the shortest route through, and if it werent for density fluctuations in the air, you would see a straight line. \n\nThe zigzagging comes about when the ion group is pushed about randomly by the air, as it tries to find the easiest way through, which doesn't work out to be the shortest one. Hence, the bolt itself takes the most natural form that it can, in the face of unforeseen hurdles - a zigzag shape!
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Q:Which one creates more light - series or parallel circuits?Why?\nA: Depending on the amount of bulbs there are. If you're having one bulb in a parallel and series, the series would shine brighter (I think) because series circuit is more direct. \n\nQ:Which type of circuit - series or parallel - are used in homes? Why?\nA: Both, becuase they both have their disadvanteges and advanteges. \n\nQ: What determines the amount of resistance in a conductor (wire) and how does that affect the flow of electricity? \nA: The thinner and longer the wire, the less resistance hence the electrical current is able to flow and be conducted\n\nQ: Conductors of electricity?\nA: Usually materials of metal\n\nQ: Insulators of electricity?\nA: Usually materials of plastic and wood as well as rubber.\n\nQ:How is lightning electricity?\nA: Lightning is negatively charged and has a high voltage. Lightning is created due to friction of ice crystals and particles in clouds. \n____________________________________________\nHope this helps!!! :) :) :)
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buildings do not reach into ionosphere. Surface of eath has zero charge (hence grounding). Lightning goes  from a cloud to the ground, or into another cloud. \n\nAll tall buildings have lighning protection, i.e. a thick metal wire going from top-most point and into the ground.
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See "How Light Bulbs Work":\nhttp://science.howstuffworks.com/light-bulb.htm\n\nThe full answer is:\n\nLight bulbs have a very simple structure. At the base, they have two metal contacts, which connect to the ends of an electrical circuit. The metal contacts are attached to two stiff wires, which are attached to a thin metal filament. The filament sits in the middle of the bulb, held up by a glass mount. The wires and the filament are housed in a glass bulb, which is filled with an inert gas, such as argon.\n\nWhen the bulb is hooked up to a power supply, an electric current flows from one contact to the other, through the wires and the filament. Electric current in a solid conductor is the mass movement of free electrons (electrons that are not tightly bound to an atom) from a negatively charged area to a positively charged area.\n\nAs the electrons zip along through the filament, they are constantly bumping into the atoms that make up the filament. The energy of each impact vibrates an atom -- in other words, the current heats the atoms up. A thinner conductor heats up more easily than a thicker conductor because it is more resistant to the movement of electrons.\n\nBound electrons in the vibrating atoms may be boosted temporarily to a higher energy level. When they fall back to their normal levels, the electrons release the extra energy in the form of photons. Metal atoms release mostly infrared light photons, which are invisible to the human eye. But if they are heated to a high enough level -- around 4,000 degrees Fahrenheit (2,200 degrees C) in the case of a light bulb -- they will emit a good deal of visible light.\n\nThe filament in a light bulb is made of a long, incredibly thin length of tungsten metal. In a typical 60-watt bulb, the tungsten filament is about 6.5 feet (2 meters) long but only one-hundredth of an inch thick. The tungsten is arranged in a double coil in order to fit it all in a small space. That is, the filament is wound up to make one coil, and then this coil is wound to make a larger coil. In a 60-watt bulb, the coil is less than an inch long.