From the NOAA site...
Posted on 06/22/2006 11:32:56 AM PDT by Mr. Brightside
Today: June 22, 2006 at 9:56:7 PDT
Lightning Strike Kills Colo. Motorcyclist
ASSOCIATED PRESS
WESTMINSTER, Colo. (AP) - A motorcyclist died after he was struck by lightning while riding in rush hour traffic between Denver and Boulder, police said.
Witnesses reported seeing a flash of light shortly before the motorcyclist struck the center divider on U.S. 36 Wednesday, police spokesman Tim Read said.
Gary Missi, 46, of Longmont was pronounced dead at the scene.
A coroner's investigation was under way to determine whether the lightning bolt, the collision or something else caused his death, Read said.
The lightning blasted a 4-inch-deep hole in the highway and sent chunks of asphalt hurtling across the highway.
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LOL! Do you need an ambulance???
The nanny statists will require lightning rods on MC's next.
If the branch the car's hit with doesn't contain much energy, that's true. It's better though to be flat on the ground if there's an immanent strike. Generally in populated areas with a dense electrical grid, that grid takes the brunt of the energy. Point like objects striking up out of the ground like trees attract hits. Trees also gather charge from there expansive root systems just below ground. Unless the car is the only object around breaking an otherwise flat plane, it's not likely to take a big hit. That's true of the biker in this case. Out of all the objects available, he was one of the more point like in the local area.
Yes, it does. That would be the point of highest charge density. The fact that the whole wiper wasn't vaporized means it was a small strike and just enough chage was dissipated to drop the voltage to end the strike.
That was about 45-years ago. I don't remember much from back then. My grandpa had a pharmacy, 'Golf Acres Pharmacy'. He was quite the salty personality... but the town... sorry I can't help much.
Current recommendations are that you NOT lie flat on the ground.
http://www.lightningtalks.com/LightningSafety.htm#Lightning%20Crouch
http://www.srh.weather.gov/srh/jetstream/lightning/lightning_faq.htm (scroll down a bit on this one)
Strikes in your vicinity (100 ft. diameter circle) will travel through the ground and pass through your body (and heart) often from end to end. This is deadly. The new advice is that you go into a crouch with feet together, hands on knees, and head down, with eyes closed and ears covered. You will be a slightly higher target but nearby ground strikes will not pass through your heart.
That's why herds of animals in the open die. Current goes up a couple legs, through heart, down the other legs. If they are flat on the ground, the effect is the same.
OK, but was he doing 142 trying to outrun the lightning bolt?
"A couple of dinky pieces of rubber ain't going to do squat."
Sure they will... melt.
That's okay--I was just curious.
Myth. The rubber tires of the car protect you from lightening. Fact. It is the steel "sheel" around you that protects you by enabling the electrical current to pass by you (path of lowest resistance) and on to the ground.
I suggest that you stay away from all electrical sources. Your lack of understanding could kill you.
Regardless of what you think There has to be some other factor involved with that: high voltage for one, conductivity, current path, cell heating, etc. Saying 10s of mA's by itself means nothing, despite your wisecracking comments to the contrary.
Here is a quote from a medical website:
Extent of injury depends upon
* amount of current that passes through the body
* duration of current
* tissues traversed by the current
* Although the extent of injury is most directly related to amount of current (amperage) often only the voltage is known. In general, low voltage causes less injury but voltages as low as 50 V have caused fatalities. (I also seen it as 32 V)
http://www.aic.cuhk.edu.hk/web8/electrocution.htm
From Wikipedia, "A low-voltage (110 to 220 V), 60-Hz AC current traveling through the chest for a fraction of a second may induce ventricular fibrillation at currents as low as 60mA. With DC, 300 to 500 mA is required. If the current has a direct pathway to the heart (e.g., via a cardiac catheter or other electrodes), a much lower current of less than 1 mA, (AC or DC) can cause fibrillation. Fibrillations are usually lethal because all the heart muscle cells move independently."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_shock
If correct, this could be achieved by a 9 V battery applied directly to the heart.
54% of electrocutions of workers involve household wiring of 120 to 240 volts.
From www.codecheck.com
Electrocution occurs when a small, specific amount of electrical current flows through the heart for 1 to 3 seconds. 0.006-0.2 Amps (that's 6-200mA milliamps) of current flowing through the heart disrupts the normal coordination of heart muscles. These muscles lose their vital rhythm and begin to fibrilate. Death soon follows.
From www.codecheck.com
Read and learn .... before you die.
Nope - what's happening is that the metal skin of the auto creates a "Faraday Cage" and the lightning courses over the skin of the car to the ground --- avoiding the occupants.
IOW, don't hang your arm out the window!
Well . . . I was in one when it was struck and walked away. The paint was melted and the tires looked funny, though. Didn't blow the windshield out, but this was an older car with the old "safety glass" not the new plastic-coated stuff.
When my wife and I were buying our two Miatas, the salesmanager was giving us a hard time.
We had driven the cars a few days before and decided to get both at the same time.
When we showed up to get the paperwork done, a freak lightning storm rolled in. Not much rain, but lots of lightning. In fact, just as we entered the showroom, a bolt hit not more than 50 feet from our old Mustang...more than once.
As we sat there, the salesmanager had the audacity to say, "Now, we aren't going to dot he paperwork unless you are serious about this." I stood up and pointed outside, "LOOK OUT THERE!" "DO YOU SEE THAT STORM? If we weren't serious, we would not have gone through that to be here. Now, get us our cars!"
I worked at the dealership a few years before. This was the same manager who I chewed out for screwing me out of a sale because he was such a jerk to a customer. I bought from the dealership because the owner was one of the best men in the business.
You do know that lightning rods attract electrical charges ...
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