Thunderbolt

A thunderbolt, or lightning bolt, is a symbolic representation of lightning. It appears in history, literature, and even in modern warnings about high-voltage electricity. Thunderbolts can occur naturally during the roughly 8.6 million lightning strikes that happen each day, or they can be created artificially. For example, heat lightning is a flash of light in the sky without the sound of thunder, and a Tesla coil can make a bright spark that looks like lightning and makes a loud noise, similar to a thunderclap.

In ancient myths, the thunderbolt was linked to powerful sky gods. Many Indo-European 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 cosmic order and the forces that shape the universe, as the philosopher Heraclitus wrote about “the Thunderbolt that steers the course of all things.”

Beyond myths, the idea of a thunderbolt has been used in many ways. Some ancient thinkers, like Plato, thought thunderbolts might be caused by planets moving very close to each other. 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

Depictions of lightning, often called thunderbolts, have appeared in many histories, religions, and mythologies. They are frequently shown as weapons used by powerful sky or weather gods. For example, in the Torah, lightning is described as the "arrows" of YHWH/Elohim. In Christianity, lightning is sometimes seen as linked to important events, like the Second Coming of Jesus. Many cultures have their own thunder gods, such as Indra in Vedic religion and Hindu mythology, Zeus in Greek mythology, Thor in Norse mythology, and Perun in Slavic mythology.

The term "thunderstone" has also been used for fossilized remains of ancient sea creatures, because people long thought these strange shapes were created by lightning strikes.

In the modern world

The thunderbolt or lightning bolt remains a strong symbol today, appearing in many places such as heraldry and military designs.

The thunderbolt is often used to show electrical power or danger. It appears in the logos of teams like the Los Angeles Chargers and the band AC/DC, as well as in the designs of cars like those from Opel. In stories, the thunderbolt symbol is worn by characters in the DC Universe like Captain Marvel and the Flash, and in the Marvel Universe by heroes such as Electro and Quicksilver. It is also part of the Power Rangers logo and appears in the Harry Potter series with Harry’s scar. The word “thunderbolt” is used to describe powerful and fast things, like the P-47 Republic Thunderbolt fighter 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 several other related symbols, such as the HIGH VOLTAGE SIGN (U+26A1 ⚡) and the DOWNWARDS ZIGZAG ARROW (U+21AF ↯). These symbols are used in writing systems to represent 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