Second Man In A Week To
Be Killed By Lightning
Saturday afternoon, Luis
López, was the second
person this week to lose
his life after being
struck by lightning.
López was struck while
playing golf in Santa
Ana.
Earlier this week, a
teenager was struck and
killed by lightening
while he tended to
cattle in the area known
as Los Bajos de Toro
Amarillo in Valverde
Vega.
Lightening typically
occurs during
thunderstorms, which are
frequent during the
rainy season.
A bolt of lightning can
travel at a speed of 45
km/s (kilometres per
second) (100,000 mph or
160,000 km/h). It can
reach temperatures
approaching 28,000 °C
(50,000 °F), hot enough
to fuse soil or sand
into glass channels.
An average bolt of
negative lightning
carries an electric
current of 40 kA (kiloamperes),
although some bolts can
be up to 120 kA, and
transfers a charge of 5
coulombs and 500 MJ (megajoules),
or enough energy to
power a 100 watt light
bulb for just under two
months. The voltage
depends on the length of
the bolt: with the
dielectric breakdown of
air being 3 million
volts per meter, this
works out at about one
billion volts for a 300m
(1,000 feet) lightning
bolt.
Different locations have
different potentials
(voltages) and currents
for an average lightning
strike.
The first process in the
generation of lightning
is still a matter of
debate: scientists have
studied root causes
ranging from atmospheric
perturbations (wind,
humidity, and
atmospheric pressure),
to the impact of solar
wind and accumulation of
charged solar particles.
Lightning can also occur
within the ash clouds
from volcanic eruptions
or can be caused by
violent forest fires
which generate
sufficient dust to
create a static charge.
Trees and lightning
Trees are frequent
conductors of lightning
to the ground.[ Since
sap is a poor conductor,
its electrical
resistance causes it to
be heated explosively
into steam, which blows
off the bark outside the
lightning's path. In
following seasons trees
overgrow the damaged
area and may cover it
completely, leaving only
a vertical scar. If the
damage is severe, the
tree may not be able to
recover, and decay sets
in, eventually killing
the tree. Occasionally,
a tree may explode
completely, as in this
Giant Sequoia struck in
Geneva. It is commonly
thought that a tree
standing alone is more
frequently struck,
though in some forested
areas, lightning scars
can be seen on almost
every tree.
A frequently struck tree
is the Pine. Unlike the
Oak which has a
relatively shallow root
structure the Pine
has a deep central root
that goes down into the
water table. They
usually stand taller
than other species which
also makes them a likely
target.
In culture
The expression
"lightning never strikes
twice [in the same
place]" is similar to
"opportunity never
knocks twice" in the
vein of a "once in a
lifetime" opportunity,
i.e., something that is
generally considered
improbable. Lightning
occurs frequently and
more so in specific
areas. Since various
factors alter the
probability of strikes
at any given location,
repeat lightning strikes
have a very low
probability (but are not
impossible).
In Italian, the
expression for "love at
first sight" is "colpo
di fulmine", which
literally translated
means "bolt of
lightning".
Some European languages
have a separate word for
lightning which strikes
the ground (as opposed
to lightning in
general); often it is a
cognate of the English
word "rays". The name of
New Zealand's most
celebrated thoroughbred
horse, Phar Lap, derives
from the shared Zhuang
and Thai word for
lightning.[citation
needed]
The bolt of lightning in
heraldry is called a
thunderbolt and is shown
as a zigzag with
non-pointed ends. It is
also distinguished from
the "fork of lightning".
The lightning bolt shape
was a symbol of male
humans among the Native
Americans such as the
Apache in the American
Old West. |
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