Electric Discharge and Lightning

Vocabulary flashcards covering electric discharge examples and lightning cloud charging processes.

Electric discharge

The transfer of excess electrons from a charged object to another object, such as from a negatively charged car door handle to a neutral hand, eliminating the electron imbalance.

Lightning

A very dramatic electric discharge that occurs because of a charge imbalance between clouds, or between clouds and the ground.

Water droplet charging theory

A theory suggesting that when water droplets in clouds move past one another, electrons transfer from rising water molecules to falling water droplets, causing negatively charged water molecules to collect at the cloud bottom.