Heat Lightning
Have you ever felt anxious after seeing lightning during a thunderstorm? When I was a child, I used to anticipate the thunder almost immediately after seeing lightning. Well it turns out, thunder is not always heard after lightning.…Let me explain. Thunderstorms exist because of lightning. Thunder is produced by a shockwave from the explosively expanding light channel when a large current brings quick heating. When the thunder is too far away for you to hear it, it is called “heat lightning”. This occurs frequently during the summer, hence the term “heat”. Thunder is simply energy released in lightning (energy is always conserved, it cannot be created or destroyed aka First Law of Thermodynamics). What happens is that the energy contained in the bright flash heats the air to 50,000 degrees Fahrenheit at a fraction of a second. The air is at such a high pressure that it expands into the surrounding air compressing it and thus causing a disturbance that dissipates in all directions away from the stroke and voila we have thunder. When we hear the thunder it’s because the lightning is close enough for us to hear the disturbance.
I have never liked unexpected noises. I hate the sound of balloons popping, I am that person that closes their ears when a kid is playing with a balloon and tries to pop it. It’s the same with lightning, although I don’t close my ears but I still get this little mini wave of anxiety. Why am I sharing this? Because triggers can manifest themselves in ways you could never even imagine. What I have realized though, is that when we identify and define the triggers in our lives, the better off we are in handling them. Triggers can present themselves through people, their actions, or lack thereof. The tricky part is identifying them and the hardest is not reacting to them or learning how to tame them. When I first started writing this entry it was during a thunderstorm and this was the analogy that popped into my head to illustrate triggers. Have you identified what triggers you? Think about how you react? Are you working on how to manage them? Hope this entry sparks the interest to answer these questions.
Next time you see lightning and don’t hear thunder, you’ll know the reason behind it!
Sources: https://www.nssl.noaa.gov/research/lightning
“You are allowed to be both a masterpiece and a work in progress simultaneously.”
Since it is pride month! Freddie Mercury, a gay icon, musical genius. He was always true to himself. This is one of my favorite songs.
