gaara Posted January 19, 2007 Share Posted January 19, 2007 why is it safe to be in your car whilst being struck by lightning? THanks science communitye! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Klaynos Posted January 19, 2007 Share Posted January 19, 2007 two words: faraday cage one link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faraday_cage It explains it far better than I could when this tired... Although on reflection and vague memories this is wrong as faraday cages are static fields only, so a bit more research (just a tiny bit) through upL http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skin_Effect So the charge from the lightening spreads itself all around the outside of the car meaning there's a very low charge inside... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gaara Posted January 19, 2007 Author Share Posted January 19, 2007 http://www.mos.org/sln/toe/skineffect.html i cant really understand what they are saying... can somone just put it in really layman terms... so is this the answer: "So the charge from the lightning spreads itself all around the outside of the car meaning there's a very low charge inside..." an tahts due to the skin effect. having nothing to do with a faraday cage cause this isnt static electricity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swansont Posted January 19, 2007 Share Posted January 19, 2007 A nit: Faraday cages work for while they're charging up as well, which is not static electricity. There's no field inside of a true Faraday cage, which is the real application, not protection from current. You can also get a fair degree of shielding from electromagnetic radiation for wavelengths large compared to the atomic spacing (or mesh size if it's not a solid cage) Not having an electrical path that includes you is the basic reason why you are safe. The skin effect, to the extent it applies, just means that the current flow is on the outside of the conductor rather than in the bulk material. The electricity will take the easiest path to ground, and it's the metal, specifically the outer surface. But I think you can defeat that if you are grabbing the worng parts of the car and become part of the pathway. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gaara Posted December 2, 2009 Author Share Posted December 2, 2009 So basically, if a human was to remain in the car, he/she would be at the same potential as the car. so thus cannot be electrocuted no matter where he touches the car. So why does this article: http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2008/09/07/safe_haven_in_a_storm/ conclude that the lightning car is safe cause of the skin effect? (an example of many articles) To me, the skin effect is just an observation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrP Posted December 2, 2009 Share Posted December 2, 2009 So basically, if a human was to remain in the car, he/she would be at the same potential as the car. so thus cannot be electrocuted no matter where he touches the car. Probably still worked afterwards though. I wouldn't want to be touching the bodywork of the car! I think that would be chancing it. I saw a parked car get hit by lightening - it bounced and all the electrics went wild (all lights flashing and alarms blaring). Watch this! Top Gear's Hamster being struck by lightening in a car (Well 800,000 Volt artificial stricke). He explains alot. - this IS kinda cool. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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