Thunderbolt

A thunderbolt, or lightning bolt, is a symbol that looks like lightning. It appears in stories, history, and even in warnings about high-voltage electricity. Thunderbolts can happen naturally during lightning storms, or they can be made with machines. For example, heat lightning is a flash of light in the sky without the sound of thunder, and a Tesla coil can create a bright spark that looks like lightning and makes a loud noise, similar to a thunderclap.

In ancient times, the thunderbolt was linked to powerful sky gods. Many old cultures connected the thunderbolt to their main god of the sky. Later, in Hellenic stories, the god Zeus used thunderbolts, and in Vedic traditions, the god Indra wielded a vajra, a kind of divine thunderbolt. The idea of a thunderbolt was often tied to the forces that shape the universe.

Beyond myths, the idea of a thunderbolt has been used in many ways. Some ancient thinkers, like Plato, had ideas about what caused thunderbolts. Today, the thunderbolt is a common symbol in military emblems and in pictures that represent electricity and power. It continues to be an important symbol in many mythologies and semiotic meanings.

In history, religion and mythology

See also: Lightning in religion and List of thunder gods

Lightning, often called thunderbolts, has appeared in many stories from history, religion, and myths. It is often shown as a powerful weapon used by gods of the sky or weather. For example, in the Torah, lightning is described as the "arrows" of YHWH/Elohim. In Christianity, lightning is sometimes linked to big events, like the Second Coming of Jesus. Many cultures have their own gods of thunder, such as Indra in Vedic religion and Hindu mythology, Zeus in Greek mythology, Thor in Norse mythology, and Perun in Slavic mythology.

The word "thunderstone" has been used for the fossilized remains of ancient sea creatures, because people long thought these strange shapes were made by lightning.

In the modern world

The thunderbolt or lightning bolt is still a strong symbol today. You can see it in many places, such as heraldry and military designs.

People use the thunderbolt to show electrical power or danger. It appears in the logos of teams like the Los Angeles Chargers and the band AC/DC. Cars from Opel also use this symbol. In stories, characters in the DC Universe like Captain Marvel and the Flash wear the thunderbolt. Heroes in the Marvel Universe such as Electro and Quicksilver also use it. The Power Rangers logo has the thunderbolt, and it appears in the Harry Potter series with Harry’s scar. The word “thunderbolt” describes powerful and fast things, like the P-47 Republic Thunderbolt airplane from World War II.

Unicode code points

The symbol for a thunderbolt is called the LIGHTNING symbol and has the code point U+2607 ☇. There are other related symbols, such as the HIGH VOLTAGE SIGN (U+26A1 ⚡) and the DOWNWARDS ZIGZAG ARROW (U+21AF ↯). These symbols help us talk about ideas like electricity and caution.

Other related code points include:

• U+2B4D ⭍ DOWNWARDS TRIANGLE-HEADED ZIGZAG ARROW
• U+1F5F2 🗲 LIGHTNING MOOD
• U+03DF ϟ GREEK SMALL LETTER KOPPA
• U+2621 ☡ CAUTION SIGN