20 People Who Survived Getting Struck By Lightning Show What It Does To Your Skin

The odds of getting struck by lightning in any given year are about 1 in 300,000. And although roughly 90% of those struck survive, the electrical discharge scars some of them with a tattoo-like mark, known as the Lichtenberg figure. But that’s not all.

A lightning bolt can heat the surrounding air to 50,000 degrees Fahrenheit (27,760 degrees Celsius) – which is five times hotter than the sun – and can contain up to 1 billion volts of electricity. It’s terrifying to imagine what this amount of energy could do to a human.

When it enters your body, it short-circuits the small electrical signals that run the heart, lungs, and nervous system. This can lead to cardiac arrest, seizures, brain injury, spinal cord damage, and amnesia. The blistering heat, light, and electricity can also damage your eyes. For example, it can bore holes in your retina and cause cataracts, a clouding of the lenses. Unfortunately for men, lightning can also induce impotence and decrease libido in general.

As the lightning moves toward the surface of the body, it can force red blood cells out of your capillaries, into your epidermis. Like a bruise. These scars are the earlier mentioned Lichtenberg figures. The insane temperatures can also heat up any metal you’re wearing, causing third-degree burns. Or rapidly vaporize the sweat or rain on your skin. Sometimes, this steam explosion even blows off people’s clothes or shoes, leaving them nearly naked. Scroll down to meet some of the people that survived this crazy experience!

(h/t allthatisinteresting)

The odds of getting struck by lightning in any given year are about 1 in 300,000



Image credits: unknown

And although roughly 90% of those struck survive, the electrical discharge scars some of them with a tattoo-like mark



Image credits: unknown

It is known as the Lichtenberg figure






Image credits: whampbeef



A lightning bolt can heat the surrounding air to 50,000 degrees Fahrenheit (27,760 degrees Celsius)






Image credits: unknown

This is five times hotter than the sun






Image credits: unknown

A cloud-to-ground strike cal also contain up to 1 billion volts of electricity






Image credits: unknown

When this amount of energy enters your body, it short-circuits the small electrical signals that run the heart, lungs, and nervous system






Image credits: unknown

This can lead to cardiac arrest, seizures, brain injury, spinal cord damage, and amnesia






Image credits: nejm



The blistering heat, light, and electricity can also damage your eyes






Image credits: unknown

For example, it can bore holes in your retina and cause cataracts (cloudings of the lenses)






Image credits: unknown


Unfortunately for men, lightning can also induce impotence and decrease libido in general






Image credits: CBS



The Lichtenberg figures are the results of the lightning moving toward the surface of the body






Image credits: unknown

When it forces the red blood cells out of your capillaries






Image credits: unknown

A man called Winston Kemp was struck by lightning back in 2011






Image credits: nejm



Ironically, the man is an electrician






Image credits: sciencegeekgirl



“I went outside to save my pumpkins. After that, I was going back inside”






Image credits: geardiary



“I just know it struck in our neighbor’s backyard, and it was bright and loud. I didn’t feel anything”






Image credits: geardiary



“I just came back inside like nothing was wrong. Umm…my arm was sore. <…> [It was] maybe an hour before I saw the marks”






Image credits: geardiary



“A few hours after it happened it really started to bother me. The next day it was bad. The blisters started forming; they were really big” They kept on growing for a week!






Image credits: geardiary



Lightning strikes the United States about 25 million times a year






Image credits: Kansas City Golf ‏



And they can also engrave fields of grass






Image credits: Anna Garcia ‏



So golf courses can really highlight these Lichtenberg figures






Image credits: beingto



Which are named after the German physicist Georg Christoph Lichtenberg who originally discovered and studied them






Image credits: Anna Garcia ‏



Comments

Popular posts from this blog

80+ Nature Art translation Aaron Schuerr

Welsh Monsters & Mythical Beasts Watercolor Artwork Collette J Ellis

Justin Peters: What If Everything You Imagined Could Be Real (New Pics)