Engineers across many disciplines are aware of and concerned with lightning—and for good reasons. A lightning strike can cause significant structural damage, house and forest fires, and severe ...

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or ...

Lightning is one of nature’s most spectacular and terrifying phenomena. The bright flashes and booming thunder have caught human imagination for centuries, sparking myths, scientific discoveries, and ...

Scientists say they’ve finally solved the mystery behind what happens just before lightning strikes. While famous inventor and U.S. Founding Father Benjamin Franklin discovered the connection between ...

Lightning strikes are some of the most awesome demonstrations of power on Earth. We’ve all seen trees, mountains and skyscrapers struck. But if a car is struck by lightning, then what happens?

Lightning is a powerful force, one seemingly capable of great destruction in the right circumstances. It announces itself with a searing flash, followed by a deep rumble heard for miles around.

"Thunder is impressive," Mark Twain wrote, "but it is lightning that does the work." Anyone who's watched a lightning storm will understand what he meant: Lightning is one of nature's most ...