Lightning

Lightning defied explanation for a century. Colliding ice grains separate charge, but symmetric ice makes no electricity when pressed — piezoelectricity fails. In 2025, bending ice was shown to break symmetry and generate it: flexoelectricity.

The almendro tree in Central American rainforests evolved to attract lightning. 68% more likely to be struck than neighbors, each strike kills an average of 9.2 surrounding trees by electrocution, boosting the almendro's reproduction up to 14-fold.