Ray comes from the Latin "radĭus" which means a pointed rod. This word can have several meanings or has several uses; one of them lies in the field of meteorology, which describes lightning as that natural electric discharge that hits the atmosphere produced between two clouds or between a cloud and the earth, during an electrical storm. This electrical discharge of the lightning is accompanied by an emission of light that is lightning, due to the passage of electric current that ionizes the air molecules, and also by the passage of thunder that develops by a shock wave. The electricity that travels through the atmosphere heats and spreads the air vertiginously, causing the noise that characterizes lightning or thunder.
On the other hand, a ray can also be the lines of light that originate from a luminous body, mainly those of the sun. In addition, there are several types of rays, including cathode rays where a beam of electrons that are directed from the cathode to the anode in an electronic tube, directed by the action of the electric field that exists between them: gamma rays, which is electromagnetic radiation similar to X-rays, although with a longer wavelength, emanated from the de-excitation of the nuclei of radioactive elements. Ultraviolet rays are also electromagnetic radiation but released by the sun itself or by a special device that allows an individual's skin to take on a dark or tanned appearance. And the x-rays, this high-energy electromagnetic radiation that has great penetrating power, which is used for printing photographic plates and for diagnostics in the field of medicine.
One of the main meanings expressed by the RAE for lightning is, each line, mostly straight lines that come out from the point where a particular energy originates and indicate the direction in which it expands. In addition lightning works as an adjective to describe a person or thing that acts quickly and effectively.
