What happens when lightening strikes?

Question

my friend just got hit by a lightning.it kind of scraped by her arm but it did touch her.is it dangerous to have contact with water?and what are the other risks?

Answer 1

Lightning is a powerful natural electrostatic discharge produced during a thunderstorm. This abrupt electric discharge is accompanied by the emission of visible light and other forms of electromagnetic radiation. The electric current passing through the discharge channels rapidly heats and expands the air into plasma producing acoustic shock waves (thunder) in the atmosphere.

The first process in the generation of lightning is the ejection of charged particles from the sun in what is called the solar wind [citation needed]. The Earth acquires an electric charge in its outer atmospheric layers, especially the ionosphere, from these particles. This charge will neutralize itself through any available path. This may assist in the forcible separation of positive and negative charge carriers within a cloud or air, and thus help in the formation of lightning.

You're welcome ;-)

Answer 2

Lightening is caused by electricity. Although we can’t see electricity, we can see its effects. Using bar magnets in an experiment, is a great way to understand lightening. Each end of the magnet is marked with either a + or -. The + stands for a positive charge and the - represents the negative charge. Place the magnets on a table and aim the + side of one magnet with the - side of the other magnet. Now let the magnets go and they will race toward each other. This is because opposite ends of the magnet (opposite charges) attract each other. Now turn on of the magnets around so that both magnets positive sides are facing each other. The magnets will push away from each other because like charges do not attract each other. Again, for an in depth look at why this occurs, please review the past articles on magnetism.
Now that you understand a little about how electrical charges work, let’s look at clouds.

Clouds are made of many drops of water. When these drops get big and heavy they fall to the earth as rain. While these drops are still in the cloud they have either a + or - charge. When a group of water droplets with a positive charge come near a group of water droplets with a negative charge a spark occurs. We can see this spark. This spark is lightening. The opposite charges attract each other, just as the magnets did.

Sometimes an entire cloud (or at least the majority of the cloud) has a positive or negative charge. When two clouds of opposite charges travel near each other you will be able to see lightening flash between the clouds.

Each year millions of lightening flashes travel from the clouds to the ground. Lightening is very powerful and very dangerous. Many fires are caused by lightening. Lightening can travel through the wires of your home and destroy home appliances.

During a lightening storm you should always seek shelter indoors. If you are in your car, stay in it. If you are outside during a storm, lie down in the lowest area you can find. Never stand under a tree during a lightening storm.

Answer 3

Most answers are good and on the target some are just that funny. The example of two magnets is a good way to visualize.

Let us take one statement at a time.

"My friend just got hit by a lightning. It kind of scraped by her arm but it did touch her".

This means she felt it, means it touched her but most of it took some other path.

"is it dangerous to have contact with water"?

This needs interpretation as to what do you mean?

So my comments are:

Yes and no.

When there is any one thing in the water, that is floating in the water, it makes highest point with respect to the surface of the water.

The static electrical charges are present on every thing. There are two types of charges +ve and -ve.

Same type of charges does not get attracted to each other. Deferent do. Depending on the amount of charges some noise and some light is produced, hece thunder and lightening.

For a minute let us consider earth. The earth is not +ve Or -ve, earth is nul or 0 (zero). This is where the thing gets interesting and complicated. According to equalization principle if you have say 2000 -ve or +ve units of charge on a light switch on your wall, and after walking through dry air on a carpet, if you develops any charge -ve or +ve charge that is not same as on the switch. When you turn on the light you will feel a sock. This is because exchange of charges takes place.

Just like a person picks up charge due to walking, clouds in sky are blown by the wind and get charged, this may by be billion of units, when two of the clouds get close enough you see lighting and hear thunder.

Now suppose there is only one small cloud in the sky at high altitude and wind there is at 250 MPH (this are call jet steams). This cloud will have great amount of charge in it, and will be guttering more until it is so strong that it will exchange it with earth, if there is dry grass or dry tree, it will set them on fire. If the person is standing in an open area the person may be injured or killed. If a person is swimming in a pond in an open area, he would die.

Just think what happens when there are lots of big clouds in the sky.

I hope I have said enough.

"and what are the other risks"?

The electronic equipment is at most risk. It can burn up.

The equipment is damaged and can run for some time and then die. This is because printed circuit board can develop small cracks and latter fail.....................

Answer 4

You don't weigh as much because you have been lightened?

Seriously, lightning scrambles your system somewhat if it doesn't kill you. Being struck or shocked by lightning (it may hit something nearby and you don't get the full impact), can result in a range of things from being slightly shocked (like when you touch a doorknob after walking across carpet in the winter) to a bad burn to being dead. It can be anything in between those as to how seriously it affects you.

As to being dangerous to have contact with water....I'm not sure I understand the question. Do you mean from now on? Like can she get shocked just by touching water? That's ridiculous!

If you mean is it dangerous to be in water during a lightning storm, the answer is definitely YES! Electricity and water is a deadly combination!

There are no future risks because you have been shocked or struck by lightning except for whatever medical problems resulted from the strike. For example, if you developed a heart rhythm problem as a result of the lightning strike, you might have future risk of heart attack. But being struck by lightning does not make you any more susceptible to any additional risks than you had before. You don't sudden develop some strange powers!!

Answer 5

When lightning strikes it makes a temperature of about some 5 to 6 times hotter than the Sun's surface temp! Enough temperature to make Plasma. Plasma is the 4th state of matter, It is extremely hot and extremely good conductor of electricity plus it is highly electromagnetic but only exists in certain atmosheric pressure and temp. During lightning it is best not to wear earrings or rings or other pieces of metal on your body especially if you are outside at the same time.(You must have heard that men like me are 4 times to likely get hit by lightning, I don't if that's true coz I never recived a shock) And sometimes you get electrocuted as lightning which has a massive ammount of potentional energy(volts in this case) might supress the 10 volt current in you body(You know the that nerves carry an impulse of 10 volts) making you paralysed by damaging your spinal cord or even death.!!!

Answer 6

Here in country South Australia when ever lightning strikes on a hot afternoon or evening the first thing town people hear is the station siren of their local fire brigade sounding then they hear the appliance responding priority 1 lights & sirens

If you want to watch lightning storms just make sure you are sitting somewhere safe

Answer 7

Well.....lightning is kinda high amount of Electricity generated which gets grounded by getting in contact with earth....The high amount of electricity which passes through through air seeks for the fastest way to reach earth So it gets to hit any object which is above the ground level......

In yours friendz case she must be lucky coz the lightning can cause devastating effects when the electricity gets to pass through the backbone....

When it gets to pass through the back bone it can have direct effect over the brain cells which can killl a person In some of the cases the electricity passes downn through the body without getting in contact with backbone , in these cases the area where the lightning hits gets to turn into patched layers.....or something which u see on ur friendz arm

IT's damn dangerous to get into water especially if it's conductes, ie. if it have even slightest amount of salts in it, well u can avoid it by touching the bad conductorz , the best thing is to wear shoes, being in contact with a furniture object......

Answer 8

Yes,water is a good conductor of electricity.The other risk is if you carry an umbrella if you hold the metal part,you will get a electric shock if the lightning strike the umbrella.

Answer 9

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Answer 10

A scaring huge sound. I think u should tell her to stay away form water and u also.