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Why do lights flicker/go out during a thunderstorm?
I was just thinking about thunderstorms and remembered this time a couple of years ago when I was at school. The lights randomly went out, then came back on a few seconds later. This was followed by a huge clap of thunder that scared everyone (I don't live in a very thunderstorm-prone area).
So why do thunderstorms affect electrics in such a way? I'd really like to know. Thanks.
1 Answer
- 8 years agoFavorite Answer
Short Answer - Lightening often strikes power pylons, substations overhead lines. That causes the supply via that route to trip (like a fuse blowing). But a new supply is directed via a different route to replace that supply route. That makes the power briefly die but then is quickly resumed via another supply route.
Longer Answer - First you need a little information on how the National Grid (electricity distribution round the country) works.
Power is generated from many different sources - nuclear, oil. gas. wind,and others. And it is consumed at different rates and in different places at different times. For example, at the adverts in the middle of "Coronation Street" many people switch on their kettles to make a cuppa so there is a big demand for power. Another example is when factories start up between 0700 and 0900 every weekday and shut down at 1700 (or whatever). The control room engineers at the power control centres bring in power from different power generation stations according to power demand and distribute it round the country to where it is needed.
But each town, part of town, factory can have its supply from a number of routes. Perhaps you can understand better if you imagine a water pipe system in the form of a grid. If you open and close different valves, you can divert the water via different pipes to get to the same place. And by opening valves in a certain way, you can divert much more of the water to one or two particular places which need most water. Power distribution is similar.
So back to the lightening strikes - or maybe you are already ahead of me! If lightening strikes one electricity supply (eg a sub-station or power line) then that part of the system trips (fused shut down so a switch opens to stop that supply of electricity), then another switch closes to bring in the power supply via another route (kinda like the valve in the water grid system) to restore the supply of electricity. So what you see is a loss of power (and the lights go out) but the supply is almost immediately renewed from another source, so the lights come on again. Sometimes, if power is being supplied to one part of town, then that same supply has to suddenly feed power to another part of town as well, there isn't enough power available right away, so the voltage drops briefly and the lights dim or flicker, until the system redistributes the available power to give everyone their full voltage again.
Of course, the other part of your question relates to the time delay between the power flicker and the thunder clap. That is simply that the lightening strike has occurred a few seconds before the sound of the thunder has reached your ears - but I'm sure you knew that. But for the benefit of others, lightening is a discharge of high voltage electricity from statically charged air/clouds to the earth. Sometimes it hits pylons and power cables and the likes. The sound of thunder is complex to explain, but in simple terms, it is the sound of air and water evaporating/condensing suddenly due to heat generated by electricity discharge in the clouds and air. And of course, the light and lightening travel very quickly (almost instantaneously) while the sound through the air travels very slowly (relatively) so there is a big gap in time between seeing a lightening bolt and hearing the associated thunder clap.
Good question! Hope the answer satisfies.