Lightning Doesn't Take The Shortest Path

Lightning Doesn't Take The Shortest Path. But Why?

#shorts

[sleadheadmen]

So basically I should hold a massive glass rod in the air during a storm.

[SammytheStampede]

Lightning, water, fire and politicians take the path of least resistance. Except politicians make the most damage.

[GoldBeast]

I’ve never heard of the saying that lightning takes the “shortest path”. It’s always been the path of least resistance.

[creativeclubccdevadathantd]

Moral of the story:
Shortest path is not always the easiest

[dougieherbert]

When designing high voltage electrical systems, we talk about both the "clearance" and the "creepage" distances. The first being the distance between conductors required, and the second being the distance along a surface of an insulator between conductors required. That's why the structures that hold high voltage wires to a pylon are ribbed: to increase the creepage distance

[sayan]

Instructions unclear: I held a big glass rod in air during a thunderstorm. That's how my previous life ended.

[zeroreyortsed]

Some would call it, "the path of least resistance."

[colonelb]

A good way to think of it is pushing your way through a crowd, you go this way, and that way as some folks are more willing to move than others, it's not well-planned it just sort of happens that way.

[CrimsonAkato]

I once left my classes and it was gonna be a 40 minute trip back home

and suddenly the worst thunderstorm started, I was out in the open no trees, no buildings, just walking next to the highway, and first I took out my umbrella cuz I didn't wanna be wet, but a lighting strike happened only 23 steps away from me, the sudden light absolutely horrified me and I temporarily went blind for like 15 seconds, I instantly closed my umbrella shoved it in my bag and just said " oh well screw it I rather be wet then dead " and just started sprinting home, later I heard a firefighter truck and noticed off in the distance black smoke something was clearly burning and it just scared me even me, I never ran home faster in my life, when I got home I quickly just ran to the bathroom and started to squeeze all water from my clothes, those wet clothes felt like I was carrying very heavy bags

I hope to never experience that again

[nickhammac]

My mom told me a story about a girl in a field playing soccer when she was a kid.
She said her hair just stood straight up like someone was holding a balloon above her head so she started running. Within three or four seconds, lightning struck like 5 feet from where she was standing with no storms, just some clouds in the sky.

Just a weird story, this reminded me of that because my mom was only 30 feet or so away and didn't feel anything. The girl apparently could feel it going through her, like a strong electrical pulse or something. She said it spooked all of them from playing for a while.

[jonathanf]

Absolutely devastated that he never said the path of least resistance 😔

[paul_warner]

"no, Mr Franklin, I don't think it's possible to build a glass kite"

[yezki]

Lightning: "I think this specific dude's head is a better place to ionize than the tree beside him, for no apparent reason"

[bengsynthmusic]

Thor: And that's why I'm sometimes late.

[fauji]

You should give physics lectures through demonstration like these. They will be the best lectures in the world.
You are really great at explaining any difficult subject in easy understanding way.

[Bremend]

So, lightning is likely to strike the same place twice if there has been no change to the ionization zone

[swagwoke]

I don't ever remember lightning taking the shortest path always remember being taught that lightning takes the path of least resistance

[RufotrisRootedRockhound]

I like to watch the live lighting maps on my weather tracking and have noticed the strikes hit the beaches and sand dunes more than anywhere else. This makes sense as the dust from the sands would allow for easier ionizing!

[agustinrosas]

One day we will have many Nobel Prize winners that will say, “It all started this one day that I saw an action lab short and that’s how I got into science” ❤ you guys are the best!

[OriginalSteve-o]

Lightning basically tries to find the path of least resistance as it travels down to the ground. It's not always a straight line because air is not a perfect mixture. There are fluctuations in temperature, humidity, pollutants, dust particles, etc. in the air, and so the resistance varies.