The Weirdest Kinds of Lightning You've Never Heard Of

[@abyssal_debonair]

Nice compilation of Michael’s hairs over the years

[@AaronKlapheck]

I was going to say that

[@tbella5186]

Always a pleasure to see a baby Hank in SciShow!

[@cassieoz1702]

... and Michael

[@DeRien8]

Yeah, that Dose flashback was a doozy! Fun to see all Michael's hairstyles and lengths in rapid succession.

[@katbairwell]

@@DeRien8 Yeah, I miss Michael's excellent hair sometimes!

[@Yosetime]

@@katbairwell Like, I wanted to reach through the screen to touch that hair! There is something about long, thick, dark hair on a man that is attractive to me, and most women I know. But at the same time it makes me jealous that my own hair would not be considered worth touching by anything other than the wind. lol

[@katbairwell]

@@Yosetime I'm definitely part of the jealous club, for sure!

[@dionh70]

An uncle is a lifelong electrician and certified lightning protection specialist/instructor. I learned quite a bit of information from his spare educational materials back in the 1980s, and I'm certain that there's even more to be learned currently (pun intended). Something that wasn't addressed in the above video was hot bolts vs. cold bolts, as they were labeled in those old instructional materials. A cold bolt is primarily voltage equalization between charged locations with comparatively miniscule amounts of current, very much like the static discharge arc one get between one's fingertip and a grounded household item. The comparative lack of current leads to very little heating along the path of conduction. Hot bolts, on the other hand, carry gargantuan amounts of current, and are typically far more destructive to conduction path items. For instance, when a hot bolt hits a tree, the ginormous current flow superheats the moisture in the tree bark and wood, causing it to flash to steam and triggers a steam explosion. Since steam occupies 1600 times the volume that an equivalent amount of water does, it gets REAL big REAL fast. When I was in the military in Panama back in the early 1990s, I saw the result of hot bolts occasionally striking the damp concrete on the runway, causing the concrete to spall outward and leave a steaming crater behind. When that concrete explodes out, you do NOT wanna be anywhere near it.

[@vectorwolf]

I live in Tucson, where we get insane amounts of lightning every summer. I still remember seeing a bolt come down while I was driving, then a bit later passing a car parts store where there was about six people crowded into the front doorway staring at the literally flaming crater in the middle of their parking lot. Also definitely seen my share of detonating palm trees, too... just BAM and suddenly fronds everywhere.

[@Yosetime]

hmm, I remember an acreage I used to own that had 13 poplar trees all in a row that were so tall I can't even tell you how tall, but taller than the quonset, the double-story rental property we had on the place, taller than the barn and the 10 acres or so of natural forest that was feet from our house, which was fortunately a ranch style, low to the ground. I always wondered why whoever planted those trees put them in that particular location. It was directly in between all of these obstacles. Perhaps a little too close to the house because if one of them did come down in the right direction, it would certainly land on the garage, at least. But I soon figured out that these trees were the perfect lightening directors. I saw at least 3 lightning strikes hit 3 separate trees just over 2 summers. The branches that were hit had to be cut down as they started to die off, in an attempt to save the entire tree. That was a big job as the branches were very, very high up. I wonder if the planter of those trees did that on purpose or if that was just a lucky choice? Because had the trees not been there, either the quonset, with it's metal roof, or very tall rental property would certainly have been hit. In any case, seeing the beautiful poplar trees be slowly destroyed was bittersweet.

[@rottingsun]

I was going to comment saying "*spall* isn't a word" but thankfully I double checked before hand and was able to save myself the embarassment. Thanks for the new vocab word!

[@JoeRitze]

An uncle is the brother of a child's parent. But seriously thanks for that insight you provided.

[@mwater_moon2865]

@@Yosetime People used to plant stands of oak or elm to act as natural lightning rods (oaks and elms are supposed to really attract the bolts-- and according to Clemson University, there's some truth to that...) just to the windward side of barns. The thinking being better to loose the tree than the hay. The trees also act as windbreaks, esp if you see a set planted in a row, so the winds that tend to funnel around buildings would be broken up and slowed in your situation

[@EternallyUncertain]

I'm a physicist who studies low temperature plasma (Non-equilibrium plasmas). The part of the video where you said ball lightning can be created by lightning striking glass and ionizing the gas on the other side of the glass caught my eye. The way we make cold plasma is by having a high voltage electrode with glass on top and an air gap then a ground electrode. The electrodes create an electric field. However, the plasmas we create with this aren't characteristic of ball lightning. We typically use anywhere from 10,000 to 40,000 volts. But I could definitely see a ball lightning like discharge in this set up if we used a potential of millions of volts like lightning has of instead of the tens of thousands of volts we currently use. I would like to test this and see if I can create ball lightning in my lab. I'd have to figure out how to pull megavolts out of a power supply and go over extra safery precautions, but this seems really interesting.

[@sotyllite]

Oh it’s always a treat to see professionals in the field in KZbin comments. If you do happen to find out anything, please do make a video!!

[@EternallyUncertain]

​@dannyoscereal3435 it'll probably take a year or more to get results. I have to go over safety protocols because this kind of experiment is quite dangerous, and I have to do it on a shoe string budget because my university isn't going to fund this.

[@tOFUbankai]

Commenting to stay notified! :)

[@ellenbryn]

Really great to have a scientist who might be able to do some experimenting on that - stay safe if you try. (I say this as the daughter of a chemical engineer whose labmates made him a "total destruction award" with the mostly melted remains of a plastic lab water squeezy bottle - just s puddle of plastic with the spout - which had been on a shelf on the FAR SIDE OF THE LAB from the water bath/centrifuge he had allowed to boil dry. Luckily, no one was in the room when whatever happened... happened...Annnyway.) Playing with too many volts sounds exciting. But what I really wanted to say is my parents, both scientists, observed ball lightning emerge from the screen of an old CRT TV set that was off but not unplugged after a strike in the yard outside, and it floated across the room, appeared to pass through the metal blinds of a window. and go through the glsss of the window - except no one had the presence of mibd or stupidity to run to the window and lift the aluminum blinds to see if it really had continued in some fashion on the other side of the glass.

[@tomarmadiyer2698]

Seriously consider reaching out to the various sciencetubers. I could see this happening fast and hard with enough contributors. Makes me ponder the brown mountain lights...

[@danr1920]

Those of us old enough to have listened to AM radio will remember that you heard a lighting bolt on the radio as loud static if close and less loud the farther away the lighting was.

[@DeRien8]

I still do this sometimes in the summer. If I have free time to hang in the car, I'll park out somewhere open like a big lot or by the beach to watch for strikes and track storm activity on an empty AM station

[@RitosM]

I have a pair of active speakers that don't just pick up interference from lightning, but also from switches around the house which can be heard as pops.

[@danielgertler5976]

AM radio still exists even if younger people tend to listen to FM as thats where more pop music plays

[@mernokimuvek]

What counts old enough? I was born in 2001 and I love AM radio.

[@ivytarablair]

yes and it always made me jump out of my skin 😂😂😂

[@shantanusapru]

More of these compilation videos, please! Very useful for getting a comprehensive understanding of an topic, as no one can follow all the related videos (on any one issue) published over a period of months or even years!

[@lady_draguliana784]

here in Arizona, we get "Heat-Dust Lightning" on clear, cloudless days with no cross-winds. The extreme heat, dusty air, and low humidity causes a perfect env. for electric charges to be built. the heat causes updrafts. updrafts pick up powder-fine dust. dust in motion experiences friction. Particulate friction causes a static charge to form. there is some suggestion (as yet unproven) that the sun's rays also directly contribute to the charge as high-energy particles from the sun hit dust particles and strip them of electrons, carrying or "knocking" them off the dust higher up and depositing them on the dust lower down (or perhaps just encouraging the directional trend). this static-electric dust-cycle is somewhat delicate, and can be disrupted by strong crosswinds, so it happens most often on still days, except for the concentric updrafts' circulation, which are highly localized the electron disparity between the top and bottom of the cell (which is nearly invisible, usually just being air that's "doped" with "enough" dust, and quite turbulent) builds until the charge difference overcomes the impedance of the atmosphere (aided by the intervening particles of dust in the column, which reduces the impedance of the air just like salt etc. does in water) and then; BANG! you hear thunder on a cloudless day. they've even been linked to wildfires, though typically via process of elimination... the bolts are rather faint and hard to see in daylight, and tend to be red (due to the dust), though very powerful ones can look just as blue-white as they would in a thunderstorm. they also tend to happen in batches, with the whole charge of the whole cell discharging at once, either with a very powerful bolt, or and group of nearly-simultaneous bolts; resulting in rather impressive rolls of thunder. this process is turned up to 11 when we have a severe dust storm. the only thing more terrifying than seeing a tsunami-like wall of rock (as dust) coming at you at high speed is seeing all the flashes of lightning inside it, obscured and glowing a malevolent red... as if portals to hell were briefly opening, and coming for you...

[@sophierobinson2738]

Eeee. What a description! Are you a writer?

[@lady_draguliana784]

@@sophierobinson2738 I'm trying to be! 😁 but I was also an interpreter in the military, so clear, comprehensive communication was my job 😅

[@dannydetonator]

@lady_draguliana784 I'm not even American (assuming you are), but thank you for your service (and pfp). It became my dream job recently, but unfortunately law forbids me joining my army.

[@lady_draguliana784]

@@dannydetonator Thank you! and that's unfortunate. If you're in the enlistment age range and physically able, and earnestly interested, you can talk with a recruiter about any steps you can take to remedy or bypass your disqualification(s) (at least in the US, _many_ DQ's can be bypassed with a few extra hoops jumped through, I needed multiple medical waivers to enlist myself for instance 😅)

[@erinmac4750]

That's terrifying! I did not know that about the haboobs. I've never heard of that phenomenon until now. Do the discharges strike things,vehicles, houses, etc? Arizona looks like a beautiful state, but between the heat, dangerous critters, and storms, it's like the Outback of the US!

[@amymandeville8342]

I've always been fascinated by lightning, even more so with volcanic lightning and Sprites.

[@KitsukiiPlays]

Dunno, USB-C seems more reliable

[@stelampology]

I’m intrigued by Tito’s and Sprite(s)😊😂😊

[@KitsukiiPlays]

Thunderbolt and lightning, very very frightening

[@AnimeSunglasses]

MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! _Galileo!_ *Galileo!*

[@lightfurya2087]

@@AnimeSunglassesGalileo Figaro

[@kraneiathedancingdryad6333]

I'm just a poor boy, from a poor family...

[@lindaseel9986]

Let him go....!

[@minminghsu2907]

bismillah! no we will not let you go

[@thesjkexperience]

Thanks!

[@dianelipson5420]

I want to stop here and say EXTRA good job. I occasionally pick nits with you, because science, but there are no nits to pick. All I’s dotted, all T’s crossed. Plus you’re becoming more succinct, more eloquent and you’re covering context better. Whoever is writing for you, best give them a raise, they’re a treasure. Bravo to the entire production staff, crew, and hosts.

[@surferdude4487]

All except that PH calculation blunder. High by 23%. HMPH.

[@mjengel84]

I remember a news interview during the 80s in NC after particularly violent thunderstorms with several close call strikes and one person actually hit (the survived). A very young reporter interviewed a local man (and colorful character) who who’d been struck 3 times in his life! She asked him while he was standing on his front porch.about his encounters with lightning. The old man with a proper NC twang said, “Lectriciy don’t bother me much any more after the third time. As he was speaking he was fidgeting with a short piece of extension cord that had a plug and bare wires where it had been clipped short. After he finished speaking he turned and plugged the cord in an outlet while fondling one lead in each hand… I thought the poor girl was going to have a heart attack from her horrified expression (she undoubtedly thought this old timer was electrocuting himself on live tv). He announced, “This here 120 tingles a bit, but 240 has a bit more bite” in the most matter of fact tone!

[@Yosetime]

haha. Hilarious! That poor young reporter rethinking her career choices and how to politely exit this man's front porch while on TV. hahaha. I can't stop laughing!

[@rottingsun]

He's like those people who poison themselves in small doses with toxins and venom in order to develop immunity- electric™️ edition!

[@tomarmadiyer2698]

​@@rottingsunsaul Goodman's brother's nemesis

[@Infinite_Omniverse]

What a coincidence. I was looking up pictures of red sprites just 20 minutes before this video got uploaded.

[@heisenberg3868]

No, you weren’t haha

[@MOSMASTERING]

​@@heisenberg3868Coincidences do happen you know.. I've been looking up my interests and then a video drops related to them. I'm surprised it doesn't happen more often to be honest.

[@robertwoodroffe123]

@@heisenberg3868what blue jets ? 😂

[@jssamp4442]

Coincidence? More likely Google algorithm.

[@Yosetime]

Google is watching and listening....always! No coincidence at all.

[@TheOnyxFlame]

Why do I feel like Stefan should be wearing a smoking jacket during the "SciShow Lounge" parts?

[@Delekhan]

I was going to post a comment asking where I could get that chair! It makes "The Lounge"! A smoking jacket would be the cherry on top!

[@ivytarablair]

RIGHT? lolol i love the chill set look!

[@colle_slaw]

I actually study lightning in a research group lead by Prof David Smith at UCSC! We study terrestrial gamma ray flashes produced by lightning (that’s right, lightning can be bright/energetic enough to produce gamma radiation!) it’s such a fun field to be in :)

[@jssamp4442]

With those temperatures it's not surprising to find gamma rays. Sounds like interesting research.

[@awaredeshmukh3202]

Oh my god I work as a lab tech at UCSC and I'm pretty sure I've seen posters of your work!! It seems super cool, nice to meet one of the people behind it "in the wild"!

[@maschwab63]

Actually, so high energy it produces electron antielectron pairs. And when the antielectron hits a different electron, you get the characteristic 511 KEV photon.

[@colle_slaw]

@@awaredeshmukh3202 omg that’s awesome

[@colle_slaw]

@@maschwab63 in long, yes :)

[@mitsunam7001]

How entertaining!! 💗 Literally zap my brain with knowledge right now!! 🌩

[@pufthemajicdragon]

"Everything is cooler when it's made of lasers" - This is actually physically true. The coldest temperatures we can reach use a method called "laser cooling" where we use lower power lasers to trigger atoms to release higher energy photons, overall lowering the atom's energy state. Lasers. Making things colder. So cool.

[@123Voynich]

This is gonna sound stupid but i first heard of this through a halo novel years ago and didnt understand how it works but the idea stuck with me, so amazing to know thats a real thing and to learn how it works

[@AroundTheBlockAgain]

I have an old college friend who works in this field and I am so jealous of her, haha

[@xpndblhero5170]

I've always loved lightning storms in the Mountains of PA but nothing could have prepared me for how beautiful the lightning was in Puerto Rico, it was so much louder and brighter than what I've seen in PA and it made me want travel the world just to see different lightning.... 🌩️😍😁 Edit: They didn't even mention that Roy Sullivans tombstone was struck multiple times by lightning after he died.... He must have Really pissed off Zeus. 😅

[@orchdork775]

You should watch the lightning video the slomo guys did. Great video with a ton of lightning footage

[@DeRien8]

Now I want to know if it was something about that man's body, or whether the frequent strikes in life made people look for and pay attention to any grave strikes.

[@Yosetime]

So, if one is so fascinated with lightning that it would induce the thought to travel the world just to watch it, then wouldn't it be reasonable for said person to become a meteorologist or scientist of some sort whose job it is to study lightning? You could travel the world and get paid to do it. That, to me, is a calling. A lot of people are fascinated by lightning, but most are terrified of it. But if you actually enjoy it to that degree, I'd say there is an opportunity knocking there.

[@DrachenGothik666]

Kinda bummed they didn't go into St. Elmo's Fire, an interesting lightning phenomenon where lightning seems to "stick" to objects, like ship's masts or the sides of buildings. It's greenish in colour & you can hear the crackling & fizzing as the charge wears itself out over several seconds. I saw an incident of St. Elmo's Fire one time during a truly frightening rainstorm that battered my town like a hammer. I saw this greenish glow fizzing & sparking along the window frames of a building across the street from me. The frames were metal, so that might have been a factor. I could hear it zapping & fizzling through the window I was watching from. Very cool experience to see from only a few dozen feet away.

[@brendananderson324]

I saw a ball lightning in Escondido,CA when Mulan first came out. It was a sphere as big as the street was wide, from one light post to the other, and it was rolling down the street. It was crazy to see when I was young

[@flowerbot543]

We haven't gotten a video with Michael in a long time so I was very excited!!!

[@filonin2]

It's not new.

[@flowerbot543]

I know. It's just posted new and has him in it when other actually new videos didn't.

[@zadtheinhaler]

I was just gonna say, it's been a while. I wonder what his hair looks like now?

[@NinjaNerdOG]

@@zadtheinhaler As of April is was short again according to his instagram.

[@alexisrivas307]

My husband was an F18 and H60 B helicopter mechanic. When he was working on the F18 flatworm, he had a coworker in his squadron who was electrocuted when he touched an aircraft that wasn’t properly grounded. The tool they used to discharge the charge wasn’t calibrated by the person in charge of doing that. The mechanic survived. He was in shock after the strike. This is not common. My husband saw the entire thing because he was waiting for the aircraft to be cleared.

[@therealjammit]

Did the people in charge charge the guy who was in charge of the discharge machine?

[@wesleymccravy901]

I heard he was discharged from the military

[@alexisrivas307]

@@therealjammitno

[@alexisrivas307]

@@wesleymccravy901how would you know what happened to that person? You don’t even know who that is.

[@alexisrivas307]

@@wesleymccravy901the mechanic who got shocked was ok. He came back to work the next day. Things like this can happen by accident. Equipment can malfunction to no fault of anyone.

[@darylbrown8834]

The most exciting bolts of lightning I've seen are of the anvil crawler variety, have seen a few summer time storms that put out bolts from cloud to cloud on the bottoms ' usually a break in the rain or backside of storm ' striking at least one per second for one and a half hours at a time.

[@tsbrownie]

I have see ball lightning. 4 balls in close proximity. I was in Arizona. There was lightning, but no rain. Lightning struck a dry wash down the hill from where I was staying, and a few seconds later I was saying to myself that some grass or brush must be on fire because there were several bluish glows from around that area (think of alcohol flame color). Then I realized that it was not fire, the balls moved slowly down the wash until the first hit a tree and it disappeared in a bright white flash. The second one did the same when it hit a bush nearby the tree. The last two just petered out. But they lasted much longer than 20 seconds, more like a minute.

[@emilymesch7537]

"Ash is the cause of most volcanic lightning." ^^this right here is why I always root for Team Rocket to take away his Pikachu.

[@melodyh4731]

Ah ha, ha, ha. "Baby hank." What a finale!

[@seanb3516]

I saw a Massive Negative SuperBolt hit a Power Substation from about 10 km away. The Bolt went straight down and was amazingly thick. The Substation got Smashed. The Strike did about $4M in damage to the Substation. What a memory! :D

[@Erik-oe7gc]

I’ve been struck twice and one near miss in my lifetime, shocking.

[@dianelipson5420]

You must have a magnetic personality! Glad you’re still with us. 🫣😁

[@floffycatto6475]

I used to work with someone who got struck twice in her life by lightning. She didn't even have a job or did anything that increased her chances, it just kinda happened. Now she's terrified of even the chance of a thunderstorm happening, but has the 'neat' lightning shaped scars to show.

[@wohnai]

The first thumbnail was better than the kite...

[@DeRien8]

Hate how the new YT things is to swap thumbnails to gauge engagement. Like, plenty of times I like the first one better, but I don't have time to watch until it's been swapped over to a new one. Or I click on something not realizing I've already watched it, because the bottom border of the thumbnail is red, and it has been changed since I watched.

[@Yosetime]

My dog would have to disagree with any good news regarding her chances of being struck by lightning or eaten alive by thunder. She is 135lbs ish (being polite here), a working breed who's never worked a day in her life, who wholeheartedly believes that thunder and lightning can, in fact, bust inside through windows, exterior walls, ceilings, and doors. Her solution for safety is to attempt to fit her entire huge body (huge as in 5 ft long without the tail, more than 2 ft high and infinitely 'round') into the bathroom. A sound choice since the bathroom has no windows and is the furthest interior space from the exterior of the house. And she is very dedicated to the safety of this place. I cannot convince her that it is safer on my bed, under the blankets, with me (which is exactly where I am during any thunderstorm because I am almost as terrified as her given that my building is surrounded by very large trees, very much like the trees on my old acreage that I've seen get hit by lightning 3 times in 2 summers). It is quite impossible, though, for the both of us, her being bigger than me and unwilling to move over even a little, to fit in this very tiny bathroom together (yes, I've tried). And so during such storms, I will bring some blankets and pillows and snuggle down just outside the bathroom door, holding hands with the giant beast, until things settle down. And this is how we survive a thunderstorm together. She will refuse to abandon her place of safety until the sounds of thunder are completely gone AND she sees me looking outside through the curtains to confirm there is no longer a threat. I must do the confirmation look often more than once and then drag all my blankets and pillows back to the bedroom for the ultimate confirmation that it is safe for her to leave the bathroom. I've never seen a dog so very frightened by thunder and lightning or any sound that might resemble it, such as fireworks, or even car doors slamming a block away where she cannot see it. A lot of dogs are rightfully afraid of thunder and lightning. But to see this huge beast nearly lose her mind because she really does believe that the storm is absolutely, definitely, coming inside just to get her through any exterior barrier. If we ever were in a tornado, she'd be the first one in the bathroom and I bet she'd learn to close the bathroom door too! I find it surprising that she understands where the safest place is and does not hesitate to go there, with no shame at all, and for sure will not emerge until it really, truly, is safe. If people paid more attention to their own safety, I bet there would be fewer casualties of lightning strikes. I think that's a fair assumption.

[@emrilbennett8704]

cute puppy story, and yes we humans should be more attentive.

[@isabelab6851]

Having lived in South Florida where the storms are amazing, it is definitely something I have a lot of respect for.

[@amsie02]

im glad that I didn't know about ball lightning until recently because as a kid I would've been terrified of it haha

[@wombat.6652]

I love that scientists keep asking questions, and honestly says "we don't know". Also love thunder and lightening and those deep grey blue clouds. Thank you all that helped make this vid!! 😀

[@joeshmoe8345]

Thank y'all a bunch for sharing this with us!

[@skadragon]

This type of illuminating content sparks joy in me.

[@ewestner]

I miss Michael. I imagine he's moved on to a new job somewhere else, but I wish he would come back. He's great.

[@hughjazz44]

Lasers to guide lightning? Increased lightning over the oceans? Sounds like we need sharks with frickin' laser beams attached to their heads!

[@dariomeneses5756]

Starting lighting with lasers does sound like the kind of XTREME research you'd expect 90's scientists to conduct

[@DrachenGothik666]

"Lab coats & funny goggles" type of extreme. Love it!

[@Yosetime]

Gotta start somewhere!! I bet Russia has been doing it since the 70's, at least. For other, more nefarious purposes or course.

[@TheHoveHeretic]

I'm old enough to remember ball lightning being summarily dismissed as a hoax, so I'm greatly enjoying this episode. At 6'10" - 7'10" : If shipping were responsible for 'superbolts', where are the strikes around the Panama Canal, or in the Malaca Straits? That alone ought to be sufficient to discount pollution as a complete explanation. Are there descriptions fitting our definition of superbolts from before the industrial age? Steamships didn't ply the open oceans in any numbers before Brunel's proving work in the 1830/40s. Nor does shipping explain the distinctly noticeable cluster of recordings in the High Andes ... there aren't that many large vessels on Lake Titicaca. I wonder to what extent the physics of the planetary mantle affects what happens in the atmosphere?

[@digitalatom6433]

Man gets struck by lightning 7 times and survives, but then offs himself due to depression, potentially linked due to the lightning frying his brain. Dunno if Zeus wanted him to get the message.

[@michaelmayhem350]

Why isn't this labeled as a compilation

[@SuperFpac]

they want people to click on it. no doubt compilations are their least watched videos.

[@michaelmayhem350]

@@SuperFpac you're 100% right but rather than trying to trick us they should just stop with the lazy content

[@SuperFpac]

@@michaelmayhem350 eh, it's fine for new engagement. just skip over it.

[@lenabreijer1311]

You could just stop watching and get on with your life

[@anywallsocket]

@@michaelmayhem350I bet you’re not east to make friends with 😂

[@killernat1234]

When my mom was a kid in the early 1970’s a ball of lightning came down her chimney, ever since then she has been terrified of lightning and thunder

[@awaredeshmukh3202]

Oh man I would be too!!

[@christiancarson7566]

I have been struck by lightning twice. Other than Lichtenberg scars on my right leg from the first time, I have had no long lasting problems from it. I can, however, definitely understand why someone may be traumatized by it. Midwestern farmer stoicism is probably why I have been able to shrug it off. Of course growing up on a farm in the midwest probably increased my chances of being struck in the first place.

[@FleasYoutubeChannel]

I love thunder storms and the lightning ....very good video❤

[@blacktee64]

Yay Michael!

[@vectorwolf]

Lightning struck a power line in front of my parents' house in Tennessee years ago. The resultant surge fried all my dad's ham radio gear (despite it being grounded), peeled all the foil wallpaper off the bathroom wall, and most eerily, spat several ball lightning orbs into the kitchen from the power sockets. According to my mother, they danced around in the middle of the kitchen floor for some time before grounding themselves on the steel oven and vanishing.

[@whilethevossisaway]

One of the best videos I’ve seen, makes me wonder how people survive being struck by lightning, especially more than once. And then there’s lightning in Hurricanes… my great uncle sold lightning rods long time ago and I’ve had relatives that have been struck twice and survived

[@oijosh6286]

This struck me as a shockingly illuminating subject 😉

[@petersmythe6462]

Maybe the super bolts happen when you build up charge without ice, and the cloud and ground/sea just act like a normal spark gap? That would mean the voltage difference that needs to be overcome is not that needed to cross 30 or 50 meters of air in a cloud but several hundred meters to more than a kilometer, with no stepped leader needed, just a giant spark.

[@entropic-decay]

I remember once as a kid I saw ball lightning form on a cable outside the house I lived in. I was actually outside at the time, as I wasn't expecting to be caught in a thunderstorm, and it was *terrifyingly bright and loud*

[@jiioannidis7215]

As a little boy, I was terrified by thunder. Already a budding nerd at 3yo, I asked my father what was causing it. Most of it was from cloud-to-cloud lighting, so he told me it was clouds bumping into each other! A brilliant and not too far from the truth explanation that a 3yo nerdling could accept!

[@TroyDowVanZandt]

Before the infrared observatory atop the 9000-foot-plus summit of Mt. Lemmon north of Tucson, there was an Air Force installation. I had an uncle stationed there in the 60s. He described an incidence of ball lightning that entered through an open window, traveled across a room and exited via another open window.

[@chasefrost1401]

Volcanic lightning is cool as hell. Lightning sprites are pretty cool too

[@Dellvmnyam]

It's actually hot as hell ^_^

[@PoliticalSins]

Why dose lightning never laugh at my jokes? There too shocking 🙃

[@nebulan]

The different variants of Michael's hair...

[@AroundTheBlockAgain]

Between lines like "dat ash" and "why use rockets when you could use lasers", this is a fantastic compilation that I enjoyed very much. I also knew lightning was hotter than the surface of the sun, but FIVE SUNS aka five times the temperature of the surface of the sun was quite memorable, so I think I will remember it this time! (And ok so the presenter said "that ash" and not "dat ash" but I certainly did in echo to it)

[@rykephoenix]

Years ago, my brother and I were watching something on the computer during a thunderstorm. Lightning struck my house and I saw all white for a second. My brother swear he saw a lightning ball shoot out the monitor close to my face. I think that video just explained it !

[@ChaosMagnet]

My father got struck by lightning while working for a road construction crew when he was a teenager. After that, he seemed to attract electrical shocks. We had an ancient canister vacuum that had once been my grandmother’s, and Mum or I could use it over and over again without ever getting even the tiniest electric tingle, but if Dad tried to use it, the resultant electric shock would throw him halfway across the room. Stuff like that happened again and again, with Dad getting shocked alarmingly frequently. It was really strange. Almost like once electricity got a taste of him, it wanted more.

[@LadyMoonweb]

Anybody wishing to study lightning hitting sea water ought to try the Greek Islands in summer. The storms are short and violent, featuring some of the most numerous and substantial bolts of lightning I've ever seen. In many cases the storms feature multiple strikes per minute, and the spectacle (and sound) of a bolt with the thickness of an oak tree ripping its way to connect ocean to sky (especially in the dark) defies words.

[@Delekhan]

Young SciShow hosts take me back! Y'all are awesome! And don't feel bad, we all get old. Hopefully... ;)

[@Neveko]

Wish you all would label compilation videos somewhere. There's really no reason not to say it's a compilation in the details at the very least

[@fighthefallen]

"The fire of five suns" Officially the best name for lightning. Ever.

[@Honeneko.]

Heard "Michael" and thought it was going to jump into a Vsauce intro.

[@TiredMomma]

Green lighting is awesome to see. I saw green lightning this year. It never came down to the ground, just stayed zapping around in the lower clouds. I've read that it's rare to see it, so I'm lucky I guess I get to see them sometimes.

[@xtpsxreportsx]

Wish this was labeled as a compilation in the title

[@BeccaHetrick]

The house I grew up in in Portland Connecticut had 3 trees that had been struck by lightning four times in 50 years. One tree got hit two separate times. It's now split into 4 quarters and is still growing strong... The other 2 are fine, too. It was the house my grandfather built for his first wife & my dad & uncles grew up there, my older uncle raised his kids there, my parents raised me & my sister there, now my dad's cousin is raising HIS family there... Anyway, every time there was a storm (which, when I was a kid was nearly every night in summer... Not anymore 🥺...) my dad would bring us out on the porch (real roof, framed & screened with a real floor fully attached to the GROUNDED house) and one day we swear we all saw a glowing ball float by the porch from the backyard to the front. My dad told my mom, "THAT'S why we can't add onto the porch!" Because it was literally less than 2 feet away...

[@zizimugen4470]

3:40 AND YOU AREN’T SHOWING THAT VIDEO??

[@JessScreams]

That’s exactly what i came to the comments for!! I wonder if it’s because of some weird usage rights?

[@meJaso]

“Catnip to a lighting bolt” 😂

[@eval_is_evil]

😂

[@mico77720]

7:44 I like to propose that the ocean gets changed in a similar process to how clouds get their charge. Where the hot and cold currents meet they generate that differential. And discharge into the sky.

[@capt.bart.roberts4975]

There was that poor fire watcher/state park guy in the Guinness Book with something ridiculous like 8 lightning strikes. I saw him interviewed once, a surprisingly laid back dude. I suppose being struck by lightning puts everything into perspective. 😳

[@robertwoodroffe123]

I’ve heard of all of those ! first read about ball lightning 😮 1973’ !! On a Ashton Scholastic info sheet at school!! In nz I never personally ,saw lightening forked or cloud to ground, till only less than ten years ago! Here in NZ used to be cloud 🌧 to cloud

[@DanielSolis]

A funny reminder of how it used to be someone's job to manually vary the text sizes of all the on-screen captions. That must have taken forever. Phew!

[@drakedbz]

I would have assumed that superbolts are the way they are precisely because lightning in those circumstances is rare. When charge builds up, it needs to eventually release. When there is a weak insulator between the two collections of charge, it breaks often and weakly. When there is a strong insulator, I would assume it breaks rarely and thus much more intensely. Basically the idea would be that it takes a lot of built up energy before it's able to establish a path for charges, but once that path is established it can release everything.

[@nadionmediagroup]

Man, that hair grew back quick😂

[@orchdork775]

Is it just me, or is a 1 in 3000 chance of getting struck by lightning over your lifetime not nearly rare enough? I always figured it was like 1 in a million at least. Does that mean that one in every 3000 people have been or will be struck by lightning? Or that with every 3000 strikes of lightning you witness, you get struck once?? I'm guessing it's the former and not the latter 😂

[@dannydetonator]

I'd guess this statistic is off by few orders of magnitudes or worded wrong. Off to check..

[@moiraatkinson]

I definitely get where you’re coming from with lightning strikes being stronger over water and also most lightning being concentrated off the coast of Europe. I live in the U.K. and remember a helicopter en route to an oil rig receiving an enormous strike, having to ditch in the cold North Sea. In fact it was shortly after another helicopter had been struck, but that time it was quite close to land. This accident where the crew ditched - remarkably nobody died - the accident investigation board refused to believe lightning could have caused the damage the crew reported and wanted to add a degree of pilot error in their report. In the end the tail was found and brought up. Apparently the damage was inconceivable as it was far more severe than anything previously caused by lightning hitting a helicopter. There’s a video on KZbin about the incident.

[@JohnBoen]

16:00 HCl vs. CO2... Additional H and Cl which are small mobile ions. Vs [CO] +2 and an [O]-2 [O] will capture a fresh [H]. Leading to a +1 and a -1... Fewer charged ions per unit of water, and lower ion mobility. Hmmm. perhaps reduced charge mobility allows the charge density to get to a critical level more easily.

[@dannahbanana11235]

My dad has one of those scars. It always scared me as a kid. I had like this instinctual fear of its appearance.

[@NeutralDrow]

I remember being floored by that "lightning is five times hotter than the surface of the sun" fact when I was younger. Now that I'm older, I know it's because the surface of the sun is weirdly cool compared to its corona (and the interior, obviously).

[@Beutimus]

Hank saying "You're chances of getting struck by lightning are...yeah...you're stupid" is a vibe

[@victorfranca85]

His amazing hair unnerves me.

[@Rjjamess]

2:00 For the curious: 50 meters per microsecond is 16% the speed of light or 111,847,000MPH

[@VGAstudent]

A ball lightning strike hit a stove in Albuquerque New Mexico, and apparently it looked like a big huge ball of light that made the entire floor shake when it grounded through the stove.

[@jeanannd]

I've seen the rare sprit lightening once. At the time I didn't know what I was seeing. I saw it as a child, it was red and like a jellyfish in the sky. I was only 4 so I called it sore lightening because it was red like a sore. As an adult I learned I had seen sprit lightening.

[@Emily-tv1iz]

Was not prepared for "baby-faced college TA" Hank Green in the age of "enthusiastic college professor" Hank Green

[@MakiYuzon]

Nice hair, Michael! 🎉

[@nathanirby4273]

I just managed to capture a video of ball lightning last month, totally by accident , was the craziest thing, was moving against the wind through an oak tree across the street from me , right after a bad thunderstorm, in fact thats why I was outside filming ,trying to capture how fast the clouds were moving

[@Dichotious]

"Hey, guys, check this ou-" **KERZAP**

[@MeInIMyself]

Oh great Lazer Lighting Gunz. Just what we did need and no one asked for. Thanks Guys.

[@quinnwasson2399]

That's not ending on a bummer, that's ending on a mental health trigger warning. Yeesh. Anyways, lichtenburg patterns are super cool, kinda want that tattoo. Love the show! Protect trans kids 🏳️‍⚧️

[@HS-ENTMLGY]

I thought this video came out months ago. I vividly remember watching this

[@HS-ENTMLGY]

Nvm this video is a combination of past videos

[@filonin2]

Yep, just old content passed off as new.

[@gwick358]

If you think of the earth as a huge generator, it kind of explains some things. Lighting could be a mechanism for regulation of power output. * It also kind of explains the magnetosphere. This stuff is way over my head but that's the kind of things that cross my mind.

[@marius55555]

Once saw a lightning strike over the ocean near the shore, originating around 500ft above the water, but from a clear blue summer sky - not a single cloud in sight anywhere. Any ideas how that's possible?

[@emmettturner9452]

I saw ball lightning as a kid. It was a starry night and my friend, twin brother, and I were musing about how we had never seen a shooting star while we walked to my place. We all saw it at once and pointed. We realized it wasn’t a shooting star when it appeared to come down and go behind trees that separated us from a side street. We caught up to it as it orbited a tree in someone’s front yard and then it went behind a few mobile homes. Caged dogs were barking at it and we could see it moving even when it wasn’t between trailers since some were missing their underpinning. It eventually shot up and disappeared.

[@labellaflora....]

WOW!

[@dustinpoissant]

There is an old abandoned iron mine in a mountain near me which is famous for "UFOs" but it's actually just ball lightning it's very common in the area because of the iron deposits

[@MarisaElyse]

I think ball lightning is the cause of spontaneous human combustion. Someone sitting in their chair resting and BANG

[@daniel_rossy_explica]

The day my father died, I was waiting for the ambulance ouside of the house. It happened during an intense thunderstorm, and I saw a lighting strike about 5 meters away from me.

[@AlephIshere-cm4dv]

I always talk about this randomly like a physiotherapist.

[@wolfiegrey1913]

Serious question here, is there a peltier effect to the clouds adding to their charge ?