Question

During a thunderstorm, a lightning "bolt" carries current between a cloud and the ground below.

Answer 1

Explanation:

It is given that,

Total charge carried in a bolt, q = 31 C

Time taken, $t=2.4\ ms=2.4\times 10^{-3}\ s$

Let I is the magnitude of current flowing in a bolt. The total charge flowing per unit time is called electric current. Mathematically, it is given by :

$I=\dfrac{q}{t}$

$I=\dfrac{31\ C}{2.4\times 10^{-3}\ s}$

I = 12916.66 A

Let n is the number of electrons. According to the quantization of charges,

q = ne  

$n=\dfrac{q}{e}$

e is the charge on electron

$n=\dfrac{31}{1.6\times 10^{-19}}$

$n=1.93\times 10^{20}$

Hence, this is the required solution.