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Environment
Environment Main Global Warming Natural Disasters Habitats FRESHWATER

Lightning Panorama

Photo: Panoramic view of lightning in the sky

Bolts of lightning descend like tentacles from a storm-roiled sky. It was Benjamin Franklin who discovered in 1752 that lightning is actually electricity. In his now-famous experiment, he sent a kite with a metal key tied to the string up into a thunderstorm. When he saw sparks leap from the key, his hunch about lightning was confirmed.

Photograph from Ingram Publishing/Getty Images