Modifications of the human body after being struck by lightning

Lightning strikes can confuse the electrical system in the human body, altering personality, mood, and causing memory loss.

According to Science Alert, the proportion of people who are struck by lightning during their lifetime is relatively small, about 1 / 12,000. In nearly 500 people hit by lightning every year worldwide, 90% of victims survived.

Causes of lightning formation

According to scientists, the ice particles collide with each other inside the cloud, causing an excess of negative charge, concentrated at the bottom of the cloud. This charge is very strong, pushing negatively charged electrons on the ground, causing the earth to become positively charged.

The electrical discharge between the cloud and the left charged charged earth creates lightning.(Photo: Flickr).

When the electric field between the cloud and the ground is strong enough, an electric discharge will occur. Lightning travels at nearly 300,000 km / h, launching to the ground at 300 kV. The energy generated is even greater than that of a nuclear reactor.Lightning strikes the ground forming a serpentine plasma strip , glowing blue-white glowing in the sky.

3 milliseconds after being struck by lightning

The lightning impact on the human body in 3 milliseconds is enough to cause a lot of terrible harm. Lightning strikes and escapes from the body leaving deep wounds, often accompanied by third degree burns.

The victim's hair and clothes may be scorched or ignited. Clothing even tattered due to the expansion power of the air around the lightning, when the temperature increased to 27,700 degrees C (5 times hotter than the surface of the Sun).

If the victim wears metal objects, such as necklaces, they will form electrical currents, increase heat and burn the victim's skin. Lightning escapes through the body through the foot, causing shoes to splash. The blood vessels are broken due to electric discharge and high temperature, forming "lightning flowers" on the skin called Lichtenberg.

The sound of lightning strikes can puncture the eardrum, causing the victim to lose hearing. A lightning-stricken victim described the pain feeling as if thousands of bees stung in the body.

Scars on the skin after being struck by lightning.(Photo: Winston Kemp).

Transformation of the body

Once struck by lightning, lightning impacts the heartbeat, causing the heart to stop beating. This is one of the leading causes of death. Lightning also causes seizures, apnea, brain damage, permanent or permanent paralysis.

If the survivors are fortunate to survive, they face neurological disorders for the rest of their lives. Some scientists believe that lightning disturbs the electrical system in the human body, changing the activity of cells. Victims can change personality, mood changes, dementia, chronic pain and muscle twitching like Parkinson's disease.

However, in some cases, lightning strikes cause the victim to have strange super powers. Berit Brogaard, a neurologist at the University of Miami, USA, published an article on Psychology Today that tells the story of an orthopedic surgeon after being struck by lightning with a desire to learn piano and being able to hear the period strange. A few months later, this doctor quit his orthopedic surgery, switched to songwriting and became a musician.

Most of the consequences of lightning hit the victims painfully, weakly, affecting the rest of their lives. Therefore, when we see the sky showing signs of lightning, we should quickly find safe shelter or go into the house.