Wow! Caught on Tape : Lightning Strikes Land Cruiser

[kinyo]

i think the LC's electronics got fried

a car's body is not a perfect Faraday's Cage, millions of volts can easily jump rubber tires, the millions of amps that flowed from the car's body to the ground, even for just a microsecond, might be enough to induce fatal voltages to the car's electronics

[niky]

If the car body is metal, there is a very good chance that nothing at all will happen to the electronics. If the electronics are grounded in any way, if there are frayed wires or if e insulation on the wiring is insufficient, then it is possible the electricals will get fried.

[SiRbossR]

The electricity would travel through the outside frame of the vehicle and shouldn't reach the ECU. Airplanes have also been struck by lightning with no effect.

Airplanes has something called "Static Dischargers" which are usually located in the trailing edges of the wings.


In cars, the electricity discharges through the the wheels and tires because of the ground. Most of the times, sumasabog ung gulong ng cars pag tinatamaan ng kidlat.

[niky]

I recall many trucks used to drag chains along the ground to disperse static charge.

Something to think about... Is lightning a biggee threat given today's high silica fuel saving tires?

[Helios]

whoa! that suv must've been like a moving battery and electric field with all that precipitation. reckon suv's and trucks should have insulators on the roof or electric arrester coated roof rack

[Bin Diesel]

parang sa center island naman tumama yung lightning, sa camera angle lang siguro kaya mukhang tinamaan yung SUV.

[holdencaulfield]

ang bagal magload ng youtube.
maybe the shell of the LC acted as a FARADAY CAGE.
read on FARADAY CAGE and this might explain why the passengers nor the driver weren't hurt.
why nga pala nasa goonsquad ititch?

[niky]

Well, yes, which is why we're saying it's not really surprising the vehicle kept moving (and the lights stayed on, which indicate the electrical system didn't blow out).

While it's possible for lightning to destroy a car's electrics if it hits just right and the insulation isn't good, one factor going in your favor during a storm is the car is usually wet, making the shell more conductive and encouraging the current to travel through the shell rather than inside.

If you're driving a fiberglass Corvette, though, you're basically ****ed.

[yebo]

it is already proven that the best place to stay in during a thunder storm is inside your vehicle. lightning might strike your vehicle but the charge will just pass harmlessly on the outside shell to the ground. and you can drive your car afterwards as the lightning will not affect the car's electricals and electronics.

btw, the insulation condition does not matter. remember the battery negative terminal is already grounded to the car body.

[Helios]

i agree, anyway there's more science yet to be studied on lightning and storms, its randomness make it impossible to predict its next target. i'm on the 47th floor perhaps i might try to remotely activate the camera on the balcony during a thunderstorm, and load it on youtube like shtoopid does