6 Weird Facts About Lightning Strikes From strange lightning strike rashes to exploding trees, these facts about lightning will, well, shock you. By Beth Dreher You cant have thunder without lightning Thats because thunder is the sound caused by lightning. A charged, superheated lightning bolt creates a resonating tube as it travels. The air in the tube rapidly expands and contracts causing vibrations that you hear as the rumble of thunder. Lightning-strike victims develop a strange rash People who are struck by lightning are often temporarily covered with whats known as red Lichtenberg figures, which are branching, tree-like patterns created by the passage of high voltage electrical discharges along the skin. Lightning strikes can explode a tree Imagine 15 million volts of electricity hitting a tree branch. The most likely result? The heat travels through the tree, vaporizing its sap and creating steam that causes the trunk to explode. Lightning strikes hundreds of times per hour over one South American lake Bolts of light illuminate the sky above the intersection of the Catatumbo River and Lake Maracaibo in northwestern Venezuela more than 300 nights a year, often flashing several times a second. Warm trade winds from the Caribbean Sea mix with cool air descending from the Andes to create an unusual weather pattern that helped the area set a record for the worlds most lightning bolts per square kilometer last year. Petrified lightning is real When lightning strikes sand or rock, the extreme heat can fuse minerals beneath the surface into a tube called a fulgurite. Though relatively rare, these lightning fossils have been found worldwide. A lot of people are afraid of getting hit by lightning The odds of being struck by lightning in your lifetime are a tiny 1 in 12,000, yet astraphobia is the third most common phobia in America, behind acrophobia (fear of heights) and zoophobia (fear of animals). But beware: Scientists say climate change may increase the chances to about 1 in 8,000 by year 2100.
Posted on: Mon, 05 Jan 2015 16:36:56 +0000
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