Science2000 - 2024
Fact #62 of 99

Bizzare Facts

Bizarre Fact:
A bolt of lightning contains enough energy to toast 100,000 slices of bread.

Quick Explanation:

A typical lightning strike discharges about a billion joules of energy, a massive burst of power.

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The Full Story:

The raw power of nature is difficult to comprehend, but breakfast provides a good scale. A typical bolt of **lightning** carries a current of about 30,000 amps and delivers roughly **one billion joules** of energy in a fraction of a second.

To put that in perspective, a standard toaster uses about 80,000 joules to toast a slice of bread. If you could capture and perfectly distribute the energy from a single strike, you could instantly toast **100,000 slices of bread**. The problem, of course, is that the energy is delivered in microseconds, which would likely vaporize the bread (and the toaster) rather than gently browning it.

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A bolt of lightning contains enough energy to toast 100,000 slices of bread. - Bizarre Fact | Schoolyard Myths