In which trees does lightning beat less likely or not beat at all? What trees are more likely to attract lightning: why does lightning often get into the oak?

In which trees is lightning rarely or, conversely, hits often? Details in the article.

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Lightning is beautiful and deadly at the same time. People have always been interested and scared this mysterious, natural phenomenon. In ancient times, all the peoples of the planet were characteristic of deifying natural phenomena, the origin of which no one could explain. So it was with lightning. It is not surprising that every ancient civilization had his own thunder: Zeus - the Greeks, Jupiter - among the Romans, Thor - among the Scandinavians.

Read on our website another article on the topic: "Is it possible to use a mobile phone during a thunderstorm?".

But science did not stand still, and later, during the period of history, called the era of education, lightning was studied. However, even today, after thousands of years, heavenly electricity continues to keep secrets and excite the minds of scientists with their abilities. So, one of the most curious features of lightning is its unusual craving for trees. But why is this happening? This is worthwhile to figure it out. Read further.

Why do the trees attract lightning?

Remember how our parents warned us in childhood, saying that you cannot hide under the trees during a thunderstorm. Indeed, a tree is a wonderful lightning rod. But why do they attract lightning? There are several reasons, obvious and not very.

Height

If you look at the statistics of lightning in the trees, we suddenly find that the most tall and massive of them are the most striking. It is not for nothing that the largest “love” of lightning is fed to oaks, poplars, spruce and pines.

Moisture contents

The second reason for the traction of lightning to the trees flows from the first. The fact is that the more massive the trunk of the tree, the more moisture contains moisture. This is an obvious fact. And what is the best conductor, if not water?

The root system

It is impossible to ignore the roots of the trees. Everything is also quite simple here. The developed root system contains a large amount of moisture, add to this the location of the roots underground, and in the end, get the perfect grounding.

It is worth noting that the ability of the trees to attract lightning, has long been adapted to people for useful purposes. So, for example, tall poplars and other similar warriors, specially planting near buildings, turning them into natural lightning rods.

Why does the lightning often hit the oak: what other trees are more often attracted to lightning and are subject to the blows of this element?

Oak often gets into the oak, lightning strokes

Even in antiquity, people noticed that the most suffering from lightning is oak, which the Slavs even called the "tree of Perun" (in honor of the god of thunder). But why does lightning get or hit in oak often, because there are so many other large trees? Let's figure out what other breeds of trees more often attract lightning and are subject to the blows of this element.

Scientists say that the cause of the frequent lesions of the oak lightning is the features and structure of this tree.
So, in addition to the high height and width, oaks are famous for their luxurious crown and powerful branches.
The combination of these factors, together, creates a strong point of attraction of electrical discharges.

The second reason for the traction of lightning to the oak is its extremely powerful, even compared to other large trees, the root system. A lot of people will be surprised to learn that oak roots are sometimes able to reach groundwater. Among other things, such a strong root system can saturate the tree trunk with an incredible amount of moisture.

But still, oak is not the only tree from which it is worth leaving away, noticing an impending thunderstorm.

The second place in terms of the frequency of lightning is occupied topol - 24 hits out of 100, the third will be spruce - 10%.
The superior in this unspoken competition oak, has an indicator of hits - up to 50%.

As you know, nature always strives to find the shortest way. And so it coincided that it is better to “ground” the lightning for lightning than a powerful oak or spreading poplar, simply does not exist.

Where to hide: in which trees the lightning beats less likely or does not beat at all?

So, hiding from a thunderstorm under a tree is prohibited. But what to do to a person whom the bad weather found on the street if there are no buildings nearby? Are all the trees dangerous, or maybe there are exceptions? Where to hide, in which trees lightning beats less likely or does not beat at all? Indeed, there are also exceptions to trees in which lightning rarely beats or does not beat at all, you can find in any city, field or forest. For example:

In Russia it has always been considered a good refuge from a thunderstorm birch. This tree was even planted near the house to protect it from lightning.
Such a feature of birch is due to the fact that when getting wet, it holds moisture in the upper layers of the crown.
Thanks to this, even in the event of a zipper, the tree does not destroy, but easily conducts electricity into the ground.
Nevertheless, it is also not worth being too close to the trunk of a tree, since it is still dangerous. It is better to hide from the rain at a distance from the barrel of birch, under the spreading branches.

Also, lightning blows are not subject to such trees as:

Hazel
Acacia
Elder

It is worth noting separately book treeWhich, despite an impressive height, manages to practically avoid lightning blows. Why? The fact is that the beech trunk is rich in oils that make it a very mediocre guide.

Be that as it may, but to dare to wait for a thunderstorm under the trees, it costs only in the most extreme case, and with any convenient opportunity it is better to look for a safer shelter.

If you still hit lightning: what to do?

Unfortunately, neither everyone and not always manage to avoid a lightning strike. Sometimes the blow of the elements is fatal, but much more often, people manage to survive. So, if lightning got into a person and he managed to remain conscious of how to do the victim and what to do? Here are the main recommendations:

The most important thing that needs to be done by surviving a lightning blow is to consult a doctor.
If the victim is in an unconscious state, then any person who is nearby should provide assistance. At the same time, the help must be provided as quickly as possible, since after 10 minutes it may be useless.
Subsequent hospitalization is necessary in any case.

It is worth noting, according to doctors, a person who has survived a lightning blow, even without severe burns and injuries, may subsequently encounter deviations in the body. First of all, this applies to the cardiovascular system and neurology. However, the consequences can be avoided if you receive medical care in a timely manner.

Lightning victims in history

Among the huge number of lightning hits into a person, in the entire history of fixing this incident, there have been a variety of cases: fatal and not fatal, unremarkable and truly amazing. Here are the most famous examples of the victims of lightning in history:

Wagner Casey is a victim of lightning in history

Wagner Casey

An amazing incident occurred in Texas. During the races on off -road, one of the participants named Wagner Casey, decided to wait out the impending thunderstorm under the tree, along with his friends. As a result, Casey received a powerful discharge. It is amazing that after falling to the ground, lightning re -hit the man. Nevertheless, Wagner Casey managed to survive, moreover, after a couple of weeks he completely recovered.

Bruno de Filippo

An ordinary resident of the American state of Massachusetts named Bruno de Filippo, suffered from a lightning strike, watering the lawn at home. Lightning hit the man in the shoulder, and went out over the leg. Surprisingly, Filippo received practically no harm, having escaped with a small scar, which completely disappeared, after a while.

Roy Sullivan

The most amazing case of lightning entering a person was recorded in the American state of Kentucky. To be more precise, there were 7 hits. It was as many times that the lightning struck the Ranger named Roy Sullivan, 34 years old. Even more surprising is the fact that the man survived all 7 blows of lightning. Roy Sullivan lived to 71 years and died far from the natural element. He committed suicide. This case of lightning entering a person was subsequently entered in the Guinness Book of Records.

Unfortunately, stories about a person’s meeting with lightning, rarely have a happy ending, despite the fact that deaths are rare. Most often, as a result of a lightning strike, people receive serious injuries and even become disabled, losing vision, hearing or the ability to move.

Lightning is an amazing natural phenomenon, how beautiful, but destructive and deadly. According to the reports of meteorological observations, every day on our planet up to 9 billion categories occurs. At the same time, the number of destruction caused by lightning grows from year to year, proving how dangerous this is a natural phenomenon and how important it is to engage in its study.