[ELI5] Why are planes struck by lightning occasionally, and why is it seemingly not a problem for them?
In: Physics
Lightning probes many available paths to the ground, and the first one to make a sturdy connection receives the big jolt of electricity. Since the metal body of an airplane is way easier than air for electricity, it gives paths leading through it a “head start” and so these paths are more likely to make the connection. The result is that planes are decently likely to get hit by lightning.
The very thing that makes them prone to being struck makes them safe. That metal frame that acts like a free space for the electricity? It’s a free space that totally encloses the airplane and its occupants. The first path that makes contact with the ground will *never* go through the inside of the plane, because the metal shell of the plane is always going to be an easier path.
We use this effect in all sorts of places. People can wear chain mail suits and be struck by huge arcs of electricity for stage shows and be unharmed because the chain mail suit provides the same easy path for electricity.
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