How is it that lightening is so hot but while being electrocuted people can survive and not be cooked essentially from the heat ?
In: Biology
There is a tremendous amount of current flowing through the ground during a lightning strike, which creates a step potential. By Ohms Law, Voltage = Current X Resistance, so an immense amount of current (amps) flowing through the earth (resistance) causes a voltage differential from the strike point radiating outward. They call it step potential because there is literally a voltage difference between your feet…in the left, out the right…or however you’re oriented to the strike. Many people “hit” by lightning experienced the shock of the step potential and not the actual bolt of lightning itself.
I think the voltage dissipates as a function of the square from the strike point, meaning the farther you are away, the less likely to be hurt. Burns from high voltage, internally and externally, are very common in high voltage contact with power lines, and the Doctors will constantly monitor the victims internal organs over the first few days to make sure they weren’t cooked.
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