system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5: Why does lightning zig-zag from the sky to the ground instead of going straight?
gpt
Lightning as with any electricity is going to follow the path of least resistance, in this case the zig zag is due to the air and water molecules being ionized in different concentrations not in a straight line causing the path to zig zag as the electrons jump from one ion to the next.