Then is it the metal frame that protects one from lightning in a car?

Answer 1

Yes, the car's frame acts like a mix of ground rod and metallic shield- look up "Faraday Cage" for more specific details

Answer 2

Yes,, the metal frame protects you. It would take rubber tires a 100 ft thick to insulate you. The key is that it is a hollow object. The electrons skirt around the outside edge. If it weren't for the rain and wind you could keep the windows down. Just don't touch the radio.

If you are one of those who need to see to believe, go to the Museum of Science in Boston. They have the world's largest Vande Graf generator (a lightning machine) and a staff member in a thin metal cage demonstrates this proof 3 times a day.

Answer 3

Equal charges repel each other, and in a conductor (steel), they can move (= moving electrons). That is why, when charge is brought on a car frame, the charges move to the outer skin, and then via the tires (which contain black carbon to conduct) to the ground. The whole thing is about the non-existance of electrical fields in a faraday cage due to external fields. If an electrical field is big enough, there can be a discharge, even if there is no direct 'conducting' bridge! By the way, lightning itselve is a good example of this. The surrounding gas can become conductive (= corona discharge). Your faraday-cage (car) protects you from having existance of strong electrostatic fields inside your car.

This 'repelling' of charges, and their mobility in metals, is responsible for the faraday cage-effect. The same thing happens with signals in your coax cable, although there you create ways for different charges to attract eacht other (= capacitor).

Answer 4

A Faraday cage is best understood as an approximation to an ideal hollow conductor. Electric fields produce forces on the charge carriers (usually electrons) within the conductor. As soon as an electric field is applied to the surface of an ideal conductor, it generates a current that causes displacement of charge inside the conductor that cancels the applied field inside.

If lightning strikes near a car, it does not affect the people sitting in the car. If lightning strikes the car, people inside will likely be unaffected so long as they are not in contact with metallic surfaces. The partial Faraday cage effect may not be exhibited by cars made of fiberglass or convertibles.

Answer 5

the care has Manny things to protect us from lightning, the fact that you are not touching frond helps allot, lightning actually forms on the ground as well as in the air, the car frame helps some to, and there is a lot of materials in between u and the outside metal of the car that helps

Answer 6

Basically, yes, the electricity wants to take the easiest path to ground, the path of least resistance. Steel and aluminum conduct electricity better than skin and upholstry, so most of the charge goes around the steel body. It can get saturated and go through other things too, so it's not a great idea to try it. Plus, the high charge can ionize the air so that it becomes a better electrical conductor too, so some of it can jump (arc) across the air and hit lower conductive objects like people too.

Answer 7

It is the fact that you are not touching the metal frame.

Answer 8

uhhhhhhhhhh i wanna see you stand outside in a lightning storm holding a metal rod in your hands

do you think it would protect you then?

Answer 9

NOPE.The 4 rubber tires