A person struck directly by lightning becomes a part of the main lightning discharge channel. Most often, direct strikes occur to victims who are in open areas. Direct strikes are not as common as the ...

Engineers across many disciplines are aware of and concerned with lightning—and for good reasons. A lightning strike can cause significant structural damage, house and forest fires, and severe ...

A flash of lightning. A thundering boom. And then a curious light floating through the air, illuminating the dark room, and bouncing off surfaces. “I was so terrified, I hid under my blanket,” says ...

The dance of electrical charges high above us is more complex than most people realize. While we typically think of lightning as bright bolts striking the ground, the vast majority of lightning ...

The following essay is reprinted with permission from The Conversation, an online publication covering the latest research. As the weather warms, people spend more time outdoors, going to barbecues, ...