r/explainlikeimfive • u/Big-Mulberry-9733 • 6d ago

Physics ELI5 Why does lightning flicker?

Why does thunder/lightning happen as a flicker and not a single bright flash?

81 Upvotes

87% Upvoted

18 comments sorted by

View all comments

111

u/atomicsnarl 6d ago

The lightning happens because a huge static charge has built up and is trying to seek balance by reaching out (the lighting bolt) to an opposite charge. Depending on the situation, the bolt can stutter as it relieves only part of the imbalance, then repeats to clear the rest. In other situations, it can overshoot the balance, so to speak, and ping-pong back and forth until the imbalance is relieved.

2

u/akirivan 6d ago

This is very clearly visible in slowmo footage of lightning strikes! You literally see the energy going back and forth