After a lightning bolt, what happens to the plasma?

[mk9898]

When a lightning bolt strikes the earth, the air molecules are turned into plasma which causes the "light" that we see. What happens to the plasma air molecules after a lightning bolt? Do the positive/negative charged molecules find free electrons in the air and resume to be neutrally charged? Are electrons just wandering around in the air for the molecules to absorb electrons very fast? How long do air molecules stay in the plasma phase?

 

[DrClaude]

Do the positive/negative charged molecules find free electrons in the air and resume to be neutrally charged?

A plasma is made of particles of different charges, just not bound to each other. The plasma just cools down and the charged particles recombine (not necessarily in the same way they were before, hence the production of ozone by lightning).