Brazil is the country with the highest incidence of lightning strikes in the world, especially during the summer. Every year there are some records of falls on the Brazilian coast, including reaching people and causing irreversible damage. So it’s important to better understand the best way to protect yourself from lightning and some physical clarification can help.

What are lightning?

Firstly, you have to understand that the rays are high intensity electrical discharges that happen in the atmosphere. Their main characteristics are: thunder, the sound caused by the expansion of the air heated by ray, and the lightning, the intense luminosity that appears in the way through which the ray passed.

The electric shocks can happen inside a cloud, between two or more clouds or between cloud and earth. In the latter case, the rays can come either from the cloud toward the earth, from the earth to the cloud, or leave the cloud and the earth and meet in the middle of the path.

This process happens because clouds charge electrically and then it is as if there is a battery where one pole is connected to the cloud while the other is connected to the ground. Thus, the ray is a type of short circuit between the two poles. To give you an idea, a weak ray has current of about 2,000 A, an average ray has current of 30,000 A, and the strongest rays have currents of over 100,000 A.

What not to do

A first important information to protect yourself from lightning is to keep in mind that it is not necessary to be raining for ray to occur. Therefore, if the sky becomes overcast and you notice lightning and thunder, you should take some care.

To protect yourself, avoid staying in large open spaces or riding uncovered means of transport, such as motorcycles and bicycles. Do not stand near plugs nor use electronic devices attached to them, and do not carry metal objects.

In environments such as the countryside or the beach, it is also not a good idea to take shelter under trees or even stay in large places such as the sea or the sand.

What to do

Some ideal ways to avoid being hit by ray is to seek shelter in closed cars (remembering to keep windows and doors closed and not touching the bodywork).

You can also seek shelter in buildings with lightning rods. But be aware that lightning rods protect buildings, but not necessarily people. So if you are a few feet away, or, for example, on a protected soccer field, you can still be hit by one.

Do you like to understand better how the rays work and how to protect yourself from them? Keep an eye on our blog for more curiosities.