Is It Safe to Stay in a Car During a Lightning Storm?
1 Answers
Staying inside a car during a thunderstorm is safe, and the reasons are explained in detail below: Equal Potential Between Car and Occupants: The metal shell of a car forms an equipotential surface, meaning the potential of the occupants inside the car is roughly the same as that of the car itself. When lightning strikes, no current will be conducted to the people inside the car. Therefore, it is safe to stay inside a car during a thunderstorm. Principle of Lightning Protection Inside a Car: The principle utilized for lightning protection is equipotential bonding. This involves connecting metal objects with wires or other conductive materials so that when high voltage from lightning occurs, the potential of the metal objects remains approximately equal. As a result, no potential difference is formed, and no current flows through.