International Conference on Grounding and Earthing

Lightning injuries have been generally explained through four different electrical mechanisms, namely a direct strike, a side flash, a step voltage or a touch voltage. However, there are several reported incidents where not all the observed injuries can be explained by these mechanisms. This has led to the speculation that another mechanism not usually considered in the investigations of deaths and injuries can be the cause when the  previously mentioned mechanism cannot be implicated. This fifth mechanism has been recently attributed to the current of aborted upward connecting leaders launched from the victims.

Abstract - Upward connecting leaders can be initiated from humans under the influence of downward moving lightning leaders. If the upward connecting leader successfully attaches the downward leader, a direct strike to the person would take place, causing severe injuries. However, even if an upward leader initiated from a human does not connect the downward leader, the current of this aborted leader can also be harmful. Hence, the current produced by an aborted upward connecting leader launched from a human being has been recently proposed as another possible mechanism to explain lightning injuries.

The results presented in Marley Becerra’s paper show that a connecting leader could be generated from the head of a person located several tens of meters away from lightning strikes. In the case of a strong lightning flash this distance may go up to about 100 m. During the growth of the connecting leader the current flowing through the body may reach several tens of amperes.

Read the published paper: ON THE PHYSICS OF THE INTERACTION OF ABORTED LIGHTNING UPWARD CONNECTING LEADERS WITH HUMANS

Main author
Marley Becerra
The Ångström Laboratory, Box 534, 751 61, Uppsala, Sweden
Fax: +46 18 471 58 10; Phone: +46 18 471 58 09
E-mail: marleybec@gmail.com