Every second of every day, all over the world, there are more than 100 lightning bolts. That's about ten million lightning bolts in one day! Lightning amazes us, but it can also frighten us. We have good reason to be afraid of lightning. Every year, about 100 people in the United States and Canada die from lightning, and another 300 are injured. It is strange that of all the people who die from lightning, 84 percent are men. Lightning is the main cause of forest fires; it starts more than 9,000 fires each year.
Lightning is electricity inside a cloud. Scientists do not know exactly what makes this electricity. But they know that the electricity inside a cloud can be as much as 100 million volts. From this extremely strong electricity, a lightning bolt, like a streak of bright light, comes down from the sky. Its temperature can reach 50,000 degrees Fahrenheit within a few millionths of a second. That's almost five times the temperature on the sun's surface. The lightning bolt is very quick. It can move at a speed of 87,000 miles per second. A rocket traveling at this speed would reach the moon in 2.5 seconds. With the lightning bolt, we usually hear thunder, which is the sound of hot air exploding. Lightning and thunder happen at exactly the same time, but we see lightning first because light travels a million times faster than sound. lightning often strikes tall buildings. However, many buildings strikes, the electricity goes safely down the metal rod to the ground. Benjamin Franklin, the American statesman, invented the lightning rod 1760. That is why buildings like the Empire State Building in New York City are safe. Lightning may hit this building as many as twelve times in twenty minutes and as often as 500 times a year. Airplanes are not as easy to protect as buildings, and accidents do happen In 1963 a Boeing 707 jet was hit by lightning and crashed. Eighty-one people died. here are some things you If you see thunder and lightning coming, can do to protect yourself. Go inside a house, get into a car, or go under a bridge. If you cannot find shelter, go to the lowest point on theground. If you are outside, remember that trees attract lightning especially tall trees. Never go under a tall tree that stands alone. If you are in a field, drop to your knees, bend forward, and put your hands on your knees. Do not lie down because the wet ground can carry lightning. Stay away from a lake, an ocean, or any other water. Don't touch or go near anything metal, such as a metal fence, golf clubs, and bicycles, because metal attracts lightning very quickly. Don't use a telephone except in an emergency. They say that lightning never hits the same place twice, but this is not true. One man, Roy Sullivan, was hit by lightning seven different times in his life. He was injured each time but did not die. He died in 1983, but not from lightning. He killed himself because he loved a woman, but she didn't love him!