People hit by lightning often survive, with perhaps entry and exit burns and maybe some scorches on clothing. But they don’t burn to a crisp like in a crematorium. Why not? I thought lightning has sufficient energy.
I’ve been hit twice.
The second time, I was completely soaked (thanks to the rain) and sitting in an inflatable kayak, in a river- I suspect that the charge followed the path of least resistance, which would be the water I was covered with (although there was a burn- directly underneath me, on the bottom side of the kayak- a hole burned through the rubber of the kayak.
The first time, though, I was completely dry, just standing on a hill, watching the storm come in (like a complete idiot). I got knocked down, even had a bit of bruising. A guy who was about fifty feet away from me got hurt more than I did- he was using a power drill at the time, and must’ve been better grounded. He was burned a bit on his hand.
Lightning’s just weird, I guess.
I guess cause the energy isn’t around long enough to consume the ‘fuel’…the clothing, hair, etc.
There is the energy and temperature required, but the temperature is very brief and the energy is flowing, not stopping. If the entire energy of a strike went into someone and did not jump right back out, they would definitely explode.
Many people who are struck by lightning have internal burns. The current follows the path of least resistance, so it travels through the body instead of traveling across the skin.
St. Urho
EMT/Firefighter
What the heck are the odds on that?!
Do you live in a place particularly known for lightning strikes?
You DO play the lotto, I hope, 'cause you can’t NOT win.
A crematorium furnace has to maintain a temp of around 1000 degrees C for a number of hours to burn a human body in the way you describe. (sorry can’t find a cite, but i think i am correct). The lightning simply doesnt put enough heat energy into the victim for enough time.
I think if Lightnin’ bought two lottery tickets he’d come second twice, such is his luck.
Pretty darn slim on the whole - odds of being KILLED by a lightning strike in the US were about 1 in 3,000,000 last time I checked (80 deaths out of a population of around 250-300 million), dunno the odds of being struck and surviving.
Now if he gets hit 6 more times (!) he’ll beat park ranger Roy Clark’s record.
On the medical side, I remember seeing a piece on the Weather Channel years back on lightning strikes. They had an emergency room doctor who has dealt with many victims, she said that generally the charge flows over the surface of the body and into the ground. Heart attacks were common outcome. She also said that the reason that clothes (especially shoes) were blown right off the victims is that moisture (sweat, rain, etc) is flash-heated by the bolt and you get a little steam explosion.
Valgard
Execution by electric chair is longer than a lightning strike. Some descriptions I’ve run across report smoke coming out around the collar, but the subject and clothing didn’t catch fire.
Track down the book “All About Lightning” by Martin Uman.
Most lightning strikes last less than a millisecond and don’t have the energy to start fires.
On the other hand, “positive lightning” from the top of the storm clouds tends to last as much as a good fraction of a second, and is supposed to be the source of most lightning-caused fires.
Two anecdotes I’ve heard: a technician tells about when he was a kid in school in Louisiana and saw the melted remains of the school’s aluminum flagpole. It was hit by lightning that day and the whole thing collapsed as a melted glob. I emailed a weather physicist about this, and he said such things are not that rare.
Second one: a friend in Seattle was watching lightning while driving at night, and one lightning stroke “stayed on.” He didn’t know what the heck was going on, so he stopped his car and then made a U-turn to try to see it. It was a vertical lightning bolt. He estimates that he may have kept going for about fifteen seconds, and it turned bright red right at the end. The same weather physicist says that the previous lightning-bolt record was five seconds.
I doubt that a long-duration lightning strike would cremate you. Instead think… electric chair. Internal pressure and steam explosions!