How fast can lightning travel around the Earth?

The Surprisingly “Slow” Speed of Lightning: Circling the Globe Isn’t As Instant as You Think

We all know lightning is fast. A blinding flash that splits the sky in a fraction of a second. But how fast is it, really? And if a lightning bolt were powerful enough, could it theoretically zip all the way around the Earth? The answers might surprise you.

While the visual phenomenon of lightning – that dazzling streak we see – travels at the speed of light, the actual electrical discharge itself, the force that packs the punch, moves significantly slower. Much, much slower, in relative terms.

Think of it like this: imagine you’re watching a wave roll across the ocean. The wave itself seems to move quickly, but the individual water molecules that make up the wave barely budge. Similarly, the light from a lightning strike reaches our eyes almost instantaneously, but the electrons that carry the electrical charge are moving at a different, albeit still impressive, pace.

So, what is that pace? Scientists estimate that the electrical discharge within a lightning strike travels at around 270,000 miles per hour (434,523 kilometers per hour). That’s still astonishingly fast. It’s faster than any man-made vehicle has ever travelled. It’s faster than the speed of sound by a considerable margin.

However, let’s put that into perspective.

The Earth’s circumference at the equator is roughly 24,901 miles (40,075 kilometers). At 270,000 mph, a lightning bolt theoretically could circle the globe. But it wouldn’t happen in the blink of an eye. It would take approximately 5.5 minutes.

That’s right, a little over five and a half minutes for a single electrical discharge to theoretically complete a circuit around the Earth.

Even more striking, consider the distance to the moon, which is approximately 238,900 miles (384,400 kilometers). At 270,000 mph, it would take a lightning bolt over an hour to reach the moon.

While the visual flash tricks us into thinking of lightning as instantaneous, the underlying electrical discharge is bound by the laws of physics. It’s a reminder that even the most dramatic natural phenomena are governed by measurable speeds and quantifiable distances.

So, the next time you see a flash of lightning, appreciate its speed. It’s a powerful force moving at an incredible rate. But remember, the speed we perceive is only part of the story. The electrical journey beneath the flash is a slower, more complex process, even if it’s still far faster than anything we can readily comprehend in our daily lives.