Electrocuted, basically:
“Lightning does not strike a point, it strikes an area,” said John Jensenius, a lightning safety specialist with the National Weather Service. “The physical flash you see strikes a point, but that lightning is radiating out as ground current and it’s very deadly.”
That’s interesting. I have seen lightning split a tree and then follow wires into a house blowing out the wall all long the path of the wires. I have also seen it lift up decking when following underground wires.
But if lightning hits with no lightning rod and ground is equally everywhere I guess I could imagine this result.
I read somewhere that the induced electical field shift near a lightning strike is - while orders of magnitude calmer than the strike itself - still powerful enough to burn, maim and kill.
I think it’s what Wikipedia calls “side splash” in the article on lightning injury?
i mean there’s also the large amount of plasma which is very hot
and ground is equally everywhere
You make an interesting point; Lapland is known for being relatively flat, often stony and pretty much treeless. I’m sure that contributed to an increased radius.
Small correction: this was in southwestern Norway; Lapland is in the far north of Finland.
Oh, sorry I just assumed Lapland when I saw reindeer.
Lapland - or Sápmi to be precise, but that’s an even larger area - is in the North of Finland, Sweden and Norway.
When you correct people, double-check that you’re correct.
I spent several weeks in Lapland, and I was nowhere close to Finland at any pointI did, and I suppose you did as well which would have shown you what I meant and the differences between the Lapland of Finland and the general Sápmi region which is not often referred to as Lapland any more.
I hope you put more effort and nuance into discussions you have elsewhere!
Lapland is in Finland. Hardangervidda is in Norway. It is flat as well though.
But isn’t just in Finland.
What do they teach in schools nowadays…?
Thank you, I didn’t know that.
Part of the problem is that we have two feet. When lightning strikes the ground nearby, it creates a difference in electric potential between the foot that’s closest to the impact point and the more distant one. If that potential is great enough, then an electric currect can jump through one’s shoe, go up into the body then down the other leg and back to ground.
Laying down only increases the surface area in contact with the ground, so the best thing to do is get inside.
Can I just stand on one foot then?
Feet have non-zero surface area so there’s still room for an electric potential between the near and far side of the foot. It’d be smaller so that isn’t an entirely terrible idea, but it is by no means foolproof.
I think as long as it doesn’t pass through your heart,you’ll be fine with some cooked flesh
“Fine”. Burns are very serious injuries prone to infection. Internal injuries are way harder to diagnose and treat. That’s a rough combination.
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Imagine in prehistoric times you and your posse are stalking a herd of those when all of a sudden ZAP and they just lie there medium rare
This Practical Engineering video explains the concepts behind how this happened
TLDR: The electricity is trying to flow through the Earth, but a reindeer is a better conductor, so it flows up into the nearest leg and down out the furthest leg. If they were standing on one foot they might’ve been ok
That’s what they get for never letting poor Rudolph join in any of their reindeer games
Zeus got beef with Santa
