If A Lightning Strike Hit A Lake, Would It Kill The Fish?

Reportedly , fishing is one of the most common bodily function for the great unwashed to be doing when they’restruck by lightning . But what does this mean for Pisces the Fishes , who famously pass their entire lives in prime sportfishing positioning ? Despite what cartoons would have you believe , when lightning strikes a lake , all its once - survive contents wo n’t instantly float to the surface belly - up . Well , they credibly wo n’t .

This is because when a bolt of lightning hits abody of waterthe current traveling along the aerofoil rather than penetrating deep into the liquidness . The same burden is seen when lightning strike a auto , or another conductive object ; the current flow across the Earth’s surface rather than through the strike point .

This is called the pelt effect and is the rule behindFaraday Cages – an enclosure that shields its contents from electric current . The effect is even seen when humankind are struck by lightning , referred to as flashover , which can leave people with intricate surface burns on their skin calledLichtenberg figures .

When lightning strikes a lake or ocean , the stream is only likely to move living thing that are near the Earth’s surface at the clock time . However , it ’s not reset the exact depth each bang will penetrate , so best not to rely on your diving power when taking a tempestuous swim .

Water is also swell at dissipating heat , so despite a lightning bang reaching temperatures most five times hotter than the surface of the Sun at27,760 degrees Celsius ( 50,000 degrees Fahrenheit ) , when it hits cold water that temperature apace dissipates , cooling the issue of the strike . This means the water will not lead off to boil when it ’s collide with by lightning – yet another thing cartoons lied about .

We humans are n’t , however , afforded the same safety as fish when it come to swimming during a electrical storm . As it ’s likely we ’ll be breaching the water ’s surface , if lightning strikes , we ’ll definitely feel it .

Current from a lightning strike on the piddle ’s surface can move between10 and 100 meters(32–328 foundation ) or more , depending on the king of the smash , so you do n’t even needs postulate to be near it to suffer damage from its potentially10 million voltsof energy .

A popular recommendation for determining whether or not it ’s safe to be in the water during a violent storm is the30/30 formula . Applying a flashbulb - to - bang principle , the 30/30 rule suggests that when you see the first flash of lightning , if the accompanying bombshell is hear at or before 30 seconds then the storm is closelipped enough to stupefy a risk of infection . The closer the thunder and lightning are to each other , the nigher the violent storm is . It ’s also advised that people wait for 30 minute after the last flash is look beforeentering the wateragain .

Flash - to - bang principles are based on the upper sound and light travel . Sound travels at 343 metre ( 1,125 foot ) per second , just about 1 mile every 5 seconds , while light travels at 300,000 kilometers ( 186,411 international nautical mile ) per second . If you weigh the number of seconds between the flash of lightning and the gonorrhea of thunder , then divide the act by three , you will get the tempest ’s distance from you in kilometers . For miles , divide by five .

But the best and most mathematics - free method acting of staying safe in the piss is to but not swim during a violent storm .