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A lightning strike (or L~ stroke) is an electric discharge between the atmosphere and an earth-bound object. They mostly originate in the thundercloud and terminate on the ground, called cloud to ground (CG) lightning. A less common type of strike, called ground to cloud (GC), is upward propagating lightning initiated from a tall grounded object and reaches into the clouds. About 25% of all lightning events worldwide are strikes between the atmosphere and earth-bound objects. The bulk of lightning events are intracloud (IC) or cloud to cloud (CC), where discharges only occur high in the atmosphere.〔Cooray, Vernon. (2014). Lightning Flash (2nd Edition) - 1. Charge Structure and Geographical Variation of Thunderclouds. Page 4. Institution of Engineering and Technology.〕〔http://thunder.nsstc.nasa.gov/primer/primer2.html〕 A single lightning event is a "flash", which is a complex, multi-stage process, some parts of which are not fully understood. Most ground to cloud flashes only "strike" one physical location, referred to as a "termination". The primary conducting channel, the bright coursing light that may be seen and is called a "strike", is only about one inch in diameter, but because of its extreme brilliance, it often looks much larger to the human eye and in photographs. Lightning discharges are typically miles long, but certain types of horizontal discharges can be upwards of tens of miles in length. The entire flash lasts only a fraction of a second. Most of the early formative and propagation stages are much dimmer and not visible to the human eye. == Strikes == Lightning strikes can injure humans in several different ways: # Direct # * Direct strike – the person is part of the flash channel. Enormous quantities of energy pass through the body very quickly and this can result in internal burns and organ damage, explosions of flesh and bone, and a damaged nervous system. Depending on the flash strength and access to medical services, it may be instantaneously fatal or cause permanent injuries and impairments. # * Contact injury – the person was touching an object, generally a conductor, that is electrified by the strike. # * Side splash – branches form "jumping" from the primary flash channel, electrifying the person. # * Blast injuries – being thrown and suffering blunt force trauma from the shock wave (if very close) and possible hearing damage from the thunder. # Indirect # * Ground current or "step potential" – Earth surface charges race towards the flash channel during discharge. Due to the high impedance of the ground, the current "chooses" a better conductor, often a person's legs, passing through the body. The near instantaneous rate of discharge causes a potential (difference) over distance, which may amount to several thousand volts per linear foot. This phenomenon is responsible for more injuries and deaths than the above three combined. Reports of "Tens of cows killed by a lightning strike..." are classic examples. # * EMPs – the discharge process produces an electromagnetic pulse (EMP) which may damage an artificial pacemaker, or otherwise affect normal biological processes. # Secondary or resultant # * Explosions # * Fires # * Accidents 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Lightning strike」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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