Exploring Lightning’s Role in Humanity’s Origins and Its Electrifying Effect on Culture
Although it wasn’t explicitly stated in Mary Shelley’s book, many film depictions of Frankenstein show the monster being brought to life by lightning. This is a concept that audiences can get behind, as people have often theorized that the weather phenomenon could have originally created life.
This may also have played a part in inspiring Harvard scientists to conduct a study to find out if lightning could have been the spark for human life initially. Spoiler alert: they think that it was.
Lightning Is Ever-Present in Today’s Mainstream Culture
The fascination with lightning has been at the forefront of popular culture since time began, and today’s entertainment industry highlights how it’s still a major topic of inspiration. For instance, in the online casino market, the Lightning Spins mechanic is one of the latest features to hit slot games. It involves a special effect with electrical bolts on the reels and is designed to add to the high octane thrills of the free spins round and give it a sense of increased urgency.
There are countless other instances of lightning use in popular culture, with AC/DC’s Thunderstruck being perhaps the best-known song related to the phenomenon. That track has been used in various movies when lightning has been on screen, such as Thor: Ragnarok in 2017.
The sheer number of documentaries about lightning highlights how it’s not just scientists who are interested in these electrical storms. There was a whole episode dedicated to it in the much-loved Dangerous Earth series, and there was also the BBC offering, Lightning: Nature Strikes Back.
Could Lightning Have Been the Origin of Human Life?
In some of the earliest mythologies, some civilizations believed lightning to be physical representations of the wrath of gods. Zeus and Thor were both associated with lightning, but neither of these were considered the creators of humankind.
Today’s scientists have suggested that lightning could have played a part in creating life. It was recently reported that Harvard boffins had decided to mimic early conditions on Earth to test their hypothesis of ancient electrochemistry. They think that lightning strikes helped transform the atmosphere of the planet to make it capable of forming and sustaining life.
The researchers at Harvard simulated cloud-to-ground lightning in conditions they believed were similar to early Earth and demonstrated that these strikes could generate reactive molecules essential for life. These findings propose that lightning-induced electrochemistry might have been a significant pathway for the emergence of life, and they offer an alternative to theories like panspermia or deep-sea hydrothermal vents.
Although there’s no way of definitively knowing if this latest theory about lightning is right, it would make a lot of sense. It would also explain why so many civilizations around the world have all held firm beliefs in the power of the weather phenomenon. Lighting is always going to be a source of fascination and inspiration, and the latest discoveries could even inspire new forms of entertainment related to it.
