What Causes Thunder and Lightning?

About Video:

When I was a kid, looking at the zigzag path lightning takes, I used to wonder if they were path of/to heaven. I was so much fascinated by lightning during my child days. I used to go out and see lightning, and get delighted. Little did I know at that time lightening may be disastrous for us. Until I learned about it in internet, I was not aware that current and electricity is associated with lightning.

Let's learn about lightning and thunder in this video.

Lightning is just flowing of electric current from ground to the cloud or among clouds or within a cloud. Actually, flowing of electrons make up that electric current.

Clouds get charged because of rubbing action happening between water vapor molecules, water particles and ice particles. The mechanism is complicated and precise mechanism is still to be unraveled.

Thunder, which is perceived as a loud, explosive and resounding sound, is flowing of the large vibrational energy of the atmospheric molecules resulted from rapid heating and cooling of them. Heating and cooling to the enormous degree causes high amount of rarefaction and compression that creates energetic sound wave, thunder. Thunder is not much disastrous except its large sound which may hurt our ears.

Precautions to be taken during lightening and thunder:

Don't get out of your house during lightening. I was unaware of its dangers during my childhood. Lucky I was.
Also, avoid using the telephones.
If you happen to be outside during lightening, don't stay under tree or any such conducting materials, as current seeks easiest(electrically conductive) path to flow. Find a place like hotel, or any large building and stay there. Do not stay in small isolated shed or structure in open areas.
If you are inside vehicle(not motorbikes or scooters), don't get out of that. Current flows around vehicles preventing flow to pass on you. Make sure you don't touch metal parts. Or in other words, make yourself isolated from the vehicle electrically.
If in any case you could not do these things which I mentioned above, try to stay as low as possible and make a circular loop by your legs so that current gets flown through that loop and major parts of our body don't get damaged.
If you are in open water, get out of and away from it.