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The near-instantaneous rate of discharge causes a potential (difference) over distance, which may amount to several thousand volts per linear foot. Because the ground has high impedance, the current "chooses" a better conductor, often a person's legs, passing through the body.
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Lightning discharges are typically miles long, but certain types of horizontal discharges can be upwards of tens of miles in length. The primary conducting channel, the bright, coursing light that may be seen and is called a "strike", is only about one inch in diameter, but because of its extreme brilliance, it often looks much larger to the human eye and in photographs. Most CG flashes only "strike" one physical location, referred to as a "termination". Ī single lightning event is a "flash", which is a complex, multistage process, some parts of which are not fully understood. The movement of aircraft through clouds can even cause lightning strikes. Lightning strikes the average commercial aircraft at least once a year, but modern engineering and design means this is rarely a problem. Most are intracloud (IC) lightning and cloud-to-cloud (CC), where discharges only occur high in the atmosphere. About 69% of all lightning events worldwide are strikes between the atmosphere and earth-bound objects. A less common type of strike, ground-to-cloud (GC) lightning, is upward-propagating lightning initiated from a tall grounded object and reaching into the clouds. Most originate in a cumulonimbus cloud and terminate on the ground, called cloud-to-ground (CG) lightning. The metal tower acts as a colossal lightning conductor.Ī lightning strike or lightning bolt is an electric discharge between the atmosphere and the ground. Thursday.ĬNN had reached out to Orlando Public Schools and the North Orlando Rowing Complex for further information.Lightning striking the Eiffel Tower in 1902. The student’s identity was not released Friday.Īccording to radar near the lake, at least four lightning strikes in total happened between 5:46 p.m. “We are incredibly saddened by this incident and appreciate the efforts of the multiple agencies who worked together over the past 24 hours to assist in the rescue,” Orlando Fire Department spokesperson Jennifer DeSantis said in a statement. after officials launched a search immediately after the student disappeared in the water. The body of the missing student was recovered Friday around 5:15 p.m.
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The three remaining students were treated on scene and released to their parents, Davis said Thursday. The vessel then capsized, leaving one student hospitalized and another missing after the students were forced into the water. A middle school student is missing and another is hospitalized after possible lightning strike causes rowing vessel to capsize in Florida
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