Add Yahoo as a preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. A Penn State-led study reveals the hidden chain reaction that starts lightning, linking electrons, X-rays, and gamma rays. (CREDIT ...

Using a precisely aligned pair of laser beams, scientists can now hold a single aerosol particle in place and monitor how it charges up. The particle’s glow signals each step in its changing ...

Lightning strikes happen when electricity builds up inside storm clouds and between the clouds and the ground. Inside a thunderstorm, tiny ice particles and small hailstones bump into each other as ...

Inside a charged storm cloud, they become something else entirely. As the electric field pushes electrons faster and faster, they slam into air molecules such as nitrogen and oxygen. These collisions ...