Why do trees get hit by lightning and not humans?

Answer 1

lightning gounds to earth the easiest way it can and a tree is a good conductor. as they are fairly tall. humans do get hit when they are next to trees or out in the open. it is more common than you think aswell . the odds of you getting hit is twice as much as winning the lottery.

Answer 2

V=IR basic electrical theory. Air (in which lightning has to travel) is a very good insulator. Therefore R will be very large. The shorter the distance from the cloud to the object the lightning strike is going to hit, theoretically the more likely the object is to be struck as the cloud has to generate less voltage.
Studies have shown that in the instant before the lightning strike, the object to be struck often shoots up a mini lightning bolt called an upward leader, to "invite" the downward strike. This is beacuse during a lightning cloud build up, the negatively charged ions cause the ground to become slightly positively charged.
Therefore as the tree is a) taller than a person, b) connected permanently to the ground, it is more likely to be struck. However, although we electrical engineers have been studying this for decades, we still can not be certain about our theories. Try looking in to Tesla Coils, they do a similar thing.

Answer 3

Trees get hit by lightning more than humans because they are higher (Lightning always tries to find the shortest passage to earth (hence to short out in electrical circuits etc) ) also the tree is earthed well IE roots (If you have ever seen a lightning conductor you will see the spike is always above the building( = to the branches of the tree.)on which it is situated ,following down the building on an easy conductor usualy copper ribbon (like the trunk of a tree) it is then earthed under ground on a large copper plate(like the roots of a tree) in other words that is the reason lightning conductors are styled on trees and not humans

Answer 4

They both get hit by lightning. Trees are taller and get it first. The wet tree or live tree is a decent conductor of electricity.

The danger of standing under a tree during a storm, is if lightning hits the tree, it will travel down the tree, and then travel through the earth in a large wave form. It will kill live stock and might kill you too. Lightning theory is a complex subject.

Answer 5

Who told you that people do not get hit in lightning strikes.

Try playing golf in a thunder storm and see if you are not hit.
Anything upright whether it be a tree, person, pole, chimney is likely to be struck. Chimneys and high buildings usually have a lightning conductor from roof to ground.
People are warned not to shelter beneath trees in storms.
Almost the safest place is to lie down thereby making yourself a small target.

The lightning comes from clouds to earth and then back to the clouds, each strike is a double ender. So beware.

Answer 6

You ask "Why do trees get hit by lightning and not humans?"

I think it's because humans prefer to hug the trees rather than hit them.

Answer 7

Humans get struck by lightning as well but trees do more often because they are taller

Answer 8

Yes, but I think "Fried" would be a better term. We are talking about a direct hit with a large bolt of Lightning here. People have been hit by lightning and survives, but not by a direct hit, where they complete the path to ground zero.

Answer 9

Humans and trees both get hit by lighting a lot more often then anyone realizes

Answer 10

You will still get electric static through your body the more you get near the tree even if you are under shelter. This will cause future health problems in time. development of illnes will follow like diabetes, blood cancer, dna mutation, internal organs tissue damage, bone cancer following spinal disc damages, blood pressure problems, etc.
Aways stay away from trees when a lightning storm is approaching.