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If lightning strikes the ocean while you are in it how close does the strike have to be for you to feel it?
Wiki User
∙ 10y ago
- If you can hear thunder, the lightning strike has already occurred since thunder is only a sonic boom caused by lightning. In order for you to feel an electric shock an electric current must pass through your body. For a current to pass through your body, your body must complete the circuit from an electrostatically charged cloud to earth/ground (in this example the ocean is the electrical earth/ground). Salt water is a great conductor of electricity/lightning and thus would immediately discharge the lightning strike. Unless the strike actually hits you, you are not in the circuit and would therefore feel nothing from a strike into the ocean - no matter how close. Consider the case of a bird perched on a high voltage supply line (maybe 440,000 volts). The bird is charged with 440,000 volts of electricity alright, but there is no circuit to ground/earth/ocean, thus the bird is not electrocuted and feels nothing.
- The sea is not like your bath tub, as the sea is much much larger than even a very big bath tub. After all, there is lightning hitting some part of the oceans some place, some where, every minute of every day, isn't there? If it were just like dropping a radio into a bath tub, then people playing in the ocean at Virginia Beach would be shocked to death whenever lightning struck the water off the coast of South Africa. But we know that doesn't happen. Water has resistance. Salt water has a lower resistance than drinking water, but it does have some resistance. That resistance is cumulative per unit of volume of water. As the distance grows from the strike point to the observer, the amount of energy observable is less.
- Resistance is not the major determination whether the one feels it, it is dependant on the voltage and current in that strike (changed by how far electricity has to travel, humidity, size of clouds, etc.). To see why, look at how lightning works: friction, among other things, releases negative electrons in the sky. In a storm this charge of electrons that have no place to go become attracted to the positive charged earth and take that leap. They hit the water and spread. Everything that has room takes an electron (ionizes) and the charge dissipates. My speculation is that after 100 feet or so you probably wouldn't feel it too much. Is someone going to jump in the water during a storm? It isn't recommended.
- Salt water is a much better conductor than fresh. Salt water contains positive and negative ions (Na+ and Cl-), which lower its resistance. Fresh water, which contains fewer ions to transport charge, will have a higher resistance. Thinking about it a little longer: V=IR, where V = voltage, I = current, and R = resistance. In the case of a lightning bolt, I would imagine you could consider it a two resistor system, the water between you and the strike being the first resistor, and you being the second. Voltage will be supplied by the lightning bolt. The voltage will drop after traveling through the water. If there is enough voltage to provide a large enough current through yourself then you will feel it.
- What a person will feel (1ma), will kill them (10ma) is not directly based on distance from the strike, it is based on the voltage gradient (across the person), which is determined by the distance from the strike and the other paths that the charge can take to Earth. So, it is not linear or easily calculated because of the many different variables.
- First, pure water is an insulator. Salt and impurities make it conduct. Second, you cannot separate voltage, current and resistance. They are related to each other. The voltage of the lightning strike, along with the resistance of the water determines the current allowed to flow. Current is limited by resistance. Current can be increased by increasing voltage or decreasing resistance. Therefore, the distance from the strike will increase resistance and therefore decrease current; voltage will drop as well (as in a voltage divider circuit). There are several laws that I can think of, (multiples of resistance, etc) that would probably help answer the question, but it's just not that simple. It's not even known why lightning "chooses" the path it takes in the first place. Bottom line, if you can see lightning, get out of the water.
Wiki User
∙ 10y ago
Wiki User
∙ 16y agoLightning can kill you. either if your out or in the water it can kill you. since water is an excellent electricity current conductor you can be anywhere's in the water and if it strike the water you could be seriously injured. It is best to stay OUT of the water AT ALL TIMES during a lightning and/or thunder storm(lightning usually occurs where there is lightning!)
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Why does lightning strike near water?
Lightning strikes strike near water because water is a good conductor of electricity. Most lightning strikes happen by the ocean because the salt makes it an even better conductor at electricity than fresh water.
What happens after thunder strikes the ocean?
Thunder does not strike anything, it is merely the sound of immense friction when lighting strikes.
When lightning hits the ocean?
Of Course it Does Lightning strikes the ocean all the time. You can see a picture of it happening in the associated link. But you can also see that it's not nearly as common as over land because the storms don't get driven as hard by hot ground.
What happens to the fish if the ocean is struck by lightning?
If it's real close to the point of impact, it may die. Further out it'll be safe.
When lightning strike the sea why don't all the fish die?
Some fish actually do die, if they are unfortunate to swim near where the lightning strikes. However, the electricity from the bolt of lightning is dispersed through the water only over a short distance. When lightning strikes the ocean, there is not enough electric current to lethally charge the worlds water supply, so most fish are safe. ----------- First of all, some fish do die. However the electricity dissipates (becomes weaker from the electricity spreading out) and there are a lot of fish in the oceans but there is so much water for them to be in. Have you heard the rumor that animals know when a storm is coming? A lot of them can tell by slight changes in the atmosphere such as pressure, temperature, and humidity. ---------- When water is struck, the power is transferred through millions of gallons of water to the ground and very limited amounts in comparison would affect fish. The fish may still feel a shock at a certain distance, especially due to their very sensitive lateral line, but it most likely would not cause any harm. --------- The short answer is that the effects of a lightning strike are very local, and anything outside the immediate range will be unharmed. -------- Since the lightning has to travel all the way to the ocean floor then the shock is not as strong as if the fish were in the air and the lightning struck them.
Why does lightning strike near water?
Lightning strikes strike near water because water is a good conductor of electricity. Most lightning strikes happen by the ocean because the salt makes it an even better conductor at electricity than fresh water.
If you are swimming in an ocean and lightning strikes the ocean would survive?
Yes. unless the lighting is in a close range of you it will not hit you. This happens because when lightning strikes because lighting doesn't travel far
Does lightning strike fish in the ocean?
Yes, occasionally.
What happens after thunder strikes the ocean?
Thunder does not strike anything, it is merely the sound of immense friction when lighting strikes.
Do fish die when the ocean gets stuck by lightning?
If they're really close to the strike point - yes. If they're some distance away, they're unharmed.
Why are boats on lakes or on the ocean especially vulnerable to lightning strikes?
Because lightning strikes the highest available target, and boats are usually the highest thing on the water..Stay off the water during storms!
When lightning hits the ocean?
Of Course it Does Lightning strikes the ocean all the time. You can see a picture of it happening in the associated link. But you can also see that it's not nearly as common as over land because the storms don't get driven as hard by hot ground.
What happens when lightning strikes water?
salt or fresh water? how far away is the lightning? salt water is more conductive so you will get hurt worse in the ocean than at a lake. this all depends on how close the lightning struck the water.
Why does lightning strike so much in Florida?
Because the tropical heat on the surrounding ocean creates warm moist air that drives thunderstorms, which are the weather phenomena that create lightning.
What happens to the fish if the ocean is struck by lightning?
If it's real close to the point of impact, it may die. Further out it'll be safe.
When lightning strike the sea why don't all the fish die?
Some fish actually do die, if they are unfortunate to swim near where the lightning strikes. However, the electricity from the bolt of lightning is dispersed through the water only over a short distance. When lightning strikes the ocean, there is not enough electric current to lethally charge the worlds water supply, so most fish are safe. ----------- First of all, some fish do die. However the electricity dissipates (becomes weaker from the electricity spreading out) and there are a lot of fish in the oceans but there is so much water for them to be in. Have you heard the rumor that animals know when a storm is coming? A lot of them can tell by slight changes in the atmosphere such as pressure, temperature, and humidity. ---------- When water is struck, the power is transferred through millions of gallons of water to the ground and very limited amounts in comparison would affect fish. The fish may still feel a shock at a certain distance, especially due to their very sensitive lateral line, but it most likely would not cause any harm. --------- The short answer is that the effects of a lightning strike are very local, and anything outside the immediate range will be unharmed. -------- Since the lightning has to travel all the way to the ocean floor then the shock is not as strong as if the fish were in the air and the lightning struck them.
Why cant you swim in a thunderstorm?
Water (unless pure H2O) isan excellent conductor of electric current. During thunderstorms lightning may hit the water and any swimmer in it may suffer injuries, even if the lightning does not strike the swimmer directly.
