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Earth's Extremes
Why Lightning Is One of the Most Powerful and Complex Natural Phenomena
Fact 1 of 264%
A single bolt of lightning is five times hotter than the sun.
Lightning can reach temperatures of 50,000 degrees Fahrenheit.
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Lightning reaches a staggering 50,000 degrees Fahrenheit in a fraction of a second. This makes it significantly hotter than the surface of our sun.
"A single discharge can reach temperatures five times higher than the solar surface."
This rapid heating causes the surrounding air to expand explosively, creating the sound wave we call thunder.
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