What Happens When You're Struck By Lightning The Human Body

Getting stuck by lightning is rough It can burn hotter than the sun scar your body and even blow off your clothes Even worse it kills about 47 Americans per year Although 90 of those struck survive it's still worth knowing how to avoid getting a heavy dose of sky electricity Following is the transcript of the video Contrary to popular belief lightning strikes aren t always a death sentence In fact about 90 percent of people in the US who are struck actually survive Still victims rarely walk away unscathed and the damage can be permanent Lightning triggers 75 000 forest fires in the US each year and can split entire trees down the middle in a split second So it s frightening to imagine what it does inside a human body The good news is that you won t get cooked Wile E Coyote-style but it can still do damage For starters lightning carries between 1 to 10 billion joules of energy enough to power a 100-watt bulb for at least 3 months When that amount of electricity enters your body it short-circuits the small electrical signals that run your heart lungs and nervous system This can lead to cardiac arrest seizures brain injury spinal cord damage and even amnesia But electricity isn t your only problem Lightning is blisteringly hot In under a second it can heat the surrounding air to temperatures 5X hotter than the sun s surface This causes a rapid expansion of air which leads to a shock wave that we hear as thunder It has been calculated that someone standing within 30 feet of a lightning strike point can experience a blast wave equivalent to a 5kg TNT bomb Blumenthal The intense heat light and electricity can also damage your eyes In fact it can bore holes in your retina and can cause cataracts within days or weeks Other side-effects of lightning can include impotence in men and overall decreased libido That s just what happens on the inside As the lightning moves toward the surface it can force red blood cells out of your capillaries into your epidermis like a bruise These intricate designs are called Lichtenberg figures The intense temperatures can also heat up any metal you might be wearing causing third-degree burns and can also rapidly vaporize the rainwater or sweat on your skin The resulting steam explosion may blow off your clothes and shoes leaving you nearly naked On average 47 people in the US are killed by lightning each year So you might be wondering How do I make sure I m not that guy For starters check weather forecasts ahead of time and stay indoors during a storm But if you re stuck outside avoid isolated trees poles and open fields and run as fast as you can towards safety You re best off in a developed building or a hard-topped metal vehicle So stay calm and just remember When thunder roars go indoors ------------------------------------------------------ Lightning Weather TechInsider Tech Insider tells you all you need to know about tech gadgets how-to's gaming science digital culture and more Subscribe to our channel and visit us at a http 3A 2F 2Fwww businessinsider com 2Fsai a TI on Facebook a https 3A 2F 2Fwww facebook com 2Ftechinsider a TI on Instagram a https 3A 2F 2Fwww instagram com 2Ftech insider 2F a TI on Twitter a https 3A 2F 2Ftwitter com 2Ftechinsider a INSIDER on Snapchat a https 3A 2F 2Finsder co 2F2KJLtVo a ------------------------------------------------------ What Happens When You're Struck By Lightning The Human Body

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