Lightning Looks Awesome in Slow Motion Thanks to a Super High Speed Camera [Video]

This, Marty McFly. This is a gigawatt.
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How fast is a camera that records video at 10,000 frames per second? It’s about 333 times as fast as a regular video camera, which is apparently fast enough to record the path of a bolt of lightning as it strikes. What does it look like? Kind of like a tree growing upside down out of the sky. 1.21 gigawatts of electric tree.

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You can even see it connect with its other half coming up from the buildings below in Guangzhou, China, where the video was taken. It’s like a big, electric high five.

(via LiveScience, image via Nathan Vaughn)

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Dan Van Winkle
Dan Van Winkle (he) is an editor and manager who has been working in digital media since 2013, first at now-defunct Geekosystem (RIP), and then at The Mary Sue starting in 2014, specializing in gaming, science, and technology. Outside of his professional experience, he has been active in video game modding and development as a hobby for many years. He lives in North Carolina with Lisa Brown (his wife) and Liz Lemon (their dog), both of whom are the best, and you will regret challenging him at Smash Bros.