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GIANT CHARGE SEPARATION. “Combining the collisions with the freezing, we can begin to understand how a cloud may acquire the extreme charge separation that is required for a lightning strike. When there is a charge separation in a cloud, there is also an electric field that is associated with the separation. Like the cloud, this field is negative in the lower region and positive in the upper region. The strength or intensity of the electric field is directly related to the amount of charge buildup in the cloud.” http://science.howstuffworks.com/nature/natural-disasters/lightning1.htm View in LinkedIn

COLLISIONS AND ICE. “The newly knocked-off electrons gather at the lower portion of the cloud, giving it a negative charge. The rising moisture that has just lost an electron carries a positive charge to the top of the cloud. Beyond the collisions, freezing plays an important role. As the rising moisture encounters colder temperatures in the upper cloud regions and begins to freeze, the frozen portion becomes negatively charged and the unfrozen droplets become positively charged.” http://science.howstuffworks.com/nature/natural-disasters/lightning1.htm View in LinkedIn

THUNDER. "Because the electrostatic discharge of terrestrial lightning superheats the air to plasma temperatures along the length of the discharge channel in a short duration, kinetic theory dictates gaseous molecules undergo a rapid increase in pressure and thus expand outward from the lightning creating a shock wave audible as thunder." https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lightning View in LinkedIn

GLOBAL BATTERY. “Electric currents flow continuously throughout much of the atmosphere because of the global atmospheric electric circuit, and these currents sometimes pass through clouds.” http://physicsworld.com/cws/article/news/2013/mar/06/atmospheric-electricity-affects-cloud-height View in LinkedIn