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Photograph provided courtesy of Steve Albers

Create Your Own Lightning

Here's a safe and easy way to make lightning. You will need a cotton or wool blanket. This experiment works best on a dry, cool night.

Turn out all the lights and let your eyes adjust to the darkness. Put the blanket behind you. Hold your fist out about six inches in front of your face. With your other hand pull the blanket slowly over your head. Make sure the blanket brushes over your hair. Don't let the blanket touch your fist, arm, or face. Keep pulling the blanket until your fist is "undercover".

If the conditions are right, purple sparks will jump from your fist


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Windows to the Universe, a project of the National Earth Science Teachers Association, is sponsored in part is sponsored in part through grants from federal agencies (NASA and NOAA), and partnerships with affiliated organizations, including the American Geophysical Union, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the Earth System Information Partnership, the American Meteorological Society, the National Center for Science Education, and TERC. The American Geophysical Union and the American Geosciences Institute are Windows to the Universe Founding Partners. NESTA welcomes new Institutional Affiliates in support of our ongoing programs, as well as collaborations on new projects. Contact NESTA for more information. NASA ESIP NCSE HHMI AGU AGI AMS NOAA