Citation

Langendorfer SJ. Int. J. Aquatic Res. Educ. 2010; 4(1): 5-8.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2010, Bowling Green State University)

DOI

10.25035/ijare.04.01.02

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

As readers know, lightning, an awesome natural phenomenon involving a discharge of atmospheric electricity equivalent to 50,000 volts accompanied by a vivid flash and subsequent thunder (McKechnie, 1983), presents a potentially serious risk to all humans around the world. It is the second most common weather-related cause of fatalities in the U.S., second only to flooding (Holle, Lopez, & Zimmermann, 1999). Statistics suggest that the millions of lightning strikes result on average in 60 to 100 fatalities annually in the U.S.A. Some have suggested that up to 10 times that many individuals, or from 300 to 1000 persons, may suffer non-fatal lightning-related injuries each year. Such non-fatal injuries often produce chronic and permanent health problems such as neurologic deficits and severe burns (Andrews, Cooper, Darveniza, & Mackerras, 1992).

I recommend that anyone interested in the lightning phenomenon explore a number of online sources simply by searching "lightning" or "lightning safety," using one of the popular internet search engines. I was fascinated to learn a number of interesting facts and theories about lightning including terms, types, and causes (Wikipedia, 2009). I also came across a large number of photographs and videos (e.g., HowStuffWorks, 2009) that illustrate that, although lightning often strikes the tallest object, it does not always do so. Instead, a number of adjacent objects often have the probability of being struck as a lightning "bolt" approaches within 30 meters of the earth. Why one object ends up completing the electrical circuit is not always clear...

Language: en