Often when we hear the heart shaking boom of thunder rolling over the hills, past buildings and through the ground, we think of it as no more than a prelude to a coming storm or some indication of heavy rains. Little do most people know of the searing godlike power that caused said sound.
Lightning is well known to all as a flashy, loud exchange of charges between clouds or cloud and ground. What is less known, is that the temperature of these bolts ranges between 27,000°-30,000° Celcius. That's 5 times hotter than the surface of the sun. With an average length of about 6km (the biggest being 700km) and a width 10 cm, we get a volume of 47 cubic meters of superheated plasma, and a billion joules of heat.
And then, just like that, in a few sizzling milliseconds, all the raw power that just traversed miles and miles of open space, ceases to exist, as if it were never there, leaving behind only shattered window panes and busted fuses in its wake. And one hell of a racket of course. One could call it a concert, with all the lights and sounds.