Although the risk of being struck by lightning is small, it does exist. Such a hit is not always fatal. However, it always leaves traces on the skin: either in the form of more or less extensive burns, or as unusual patterns, referred to as a Lichtenberg figure or Lichtenberg patterns. See what they look like.
A lightning strike is a contact with a huge amount of energy - the electric current in lightning is 10,000 to 200,000 A. The temperature in the lightning core is around 8,000. St. C.
That is whythose who are hit by lightning very rarely experience this encounter : people who are indirectly hit have a greater chance of survival, i.e. when the lightning struck an object located in the nearby, and its energy "brushed" the body.
The person who is struck by lightning passes out. As a result of such an impact, fractures, damage to the spine, nerve spine, cardiac arrest, and impairment of the functions of many organs may occur. The skin is also burned - not only as a result of the impact itself, but also because clothes often start to burn after being hit by a lightning bolt.
Sometimes the so-calledLichtenberg figure(from the surname of Georg Christoph Lichtenberg, who described them first) appears on the skin of people hit by lightning. Sometimes these figures are also referred to as Lichtenberg's patterns. These are wounds in a characteristic pattern of branched trees.They are brown or red in color and are the result of damage to the capillaries under the skin.
Lichtenberg's patterns are usually small, but they can also cover most of the body. They are usually visible for days, sometimes weeks.
On the web you can find many photos of people who survived lightning strikes, whose bodies were decorated with such patterns for some time.
See what they look like:
Sometimes the traces after a lightning strike are much brighter - as in the photos below:
Lichtenberg Figures: The Fractal Patterns of Lightning Strike ScarsAmazing pic.twitter.com/wVoNUc6hT7- Cynically Depressed / Economically Distressed (@TheKooriWoman) September 19, 2015
A dozen more examples can also be seen in the video below:
Patterns fired into leather by a lightning strike inspired artists - Lichtenberg figures are also the name of a popular pattern fired in wood. See how they are made: