Question

what causes lightning to strike at a particular place and time? what is lightning? if you could zoom in on a bolt of lightning, what would you see?

Explanation:

Lightning is an electrical - discharge phenomenon in the atmosphere. It occurs when there is a large electrical potential difference between different regions of a thundercloud or between a thundercloud and the ground. Charge separation within the cloud due to processes like friction between ice particles and water droplets leads to this potential difference. When the electric field becomes strong enough, a conductive channel (leader) forms, and then a return stroke occurs, which is the bright flash we see as lightning. If we could zoom in on a bolt of lightning, we would see a highly ionized channel of air, where the air molecules are broken into ions and electrons, allowing the electrical current to flow.

Answer:

Lightning is an electrical discharge in the atmosphere caused by charge - separation in thunderclouds. If zoomed in on a bolt of lightning, a highly ionized channel of air would be seen.