Rain may improve survival from direct lightning strikes to the human head.
Journal
Scientific reports
ISSN: 2045-2322
Titre abrégé: Sci Rep
Pays: England
ID NLM: 101563288
Informations de publication
Date de publication:
09 Feb 2024
09 Feb 2024
Historique:
received:
19
02
2023
accepted:
21
12
2023
medline:
10
2
2024
pubmed:
10
2
2024
entrez:
9
2
2024
Statut:
epublish
Résumé
There is evidence that humans can survive a direct lightning strike to the head. Our question is: could water (rain) on the skin contribute to an increase in the survival rate? We measure the influence of rain during high-energy direct lightning strikes on a realistic three-compartment human head phantom. We find a lower number of perforations and eroded areas near the lightning strike impact points on the head phantom when rain was applied compared to no rain. Current amplitudes in the brain were lower with rain compared to no rain before a fully formed flashover. We conclude that rain on the scalp potentially contributes to the survival rate of 70-90% due to: (1) lower current exposition in the brain before a fully formed flashover, and (2) reduced mechanical and thermal damage.
Identifiants
pubmed: 38336797
doi: 10.1038/s41598-023-50563-w
pii: 10.1038/s41598-023-50563-w
doi:
Types de publication
Journal Article
Langues
eng
Sous-ensembles de citation
IM
Pagination
1695Subventions
Organisme : Freistaat Thüringen
ID : 2018 IZN 004
Organisme : European Union
ID : European Regional Development Fund
Informations de copyright
© 2024. The Author(s).
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