The water in the ocean contains dissolved salts and this helps conduct electricity so most of the lightning stays near the surface. Though if fish are nearby where the lightning hits, they may get hurt or die because some of the electricity from the lightning can travel down into the water.
The reason why we get told to not swim during a thunderstorm is that when the lightning hits the surface of the water, the current from the electricity can travel in different directions of the surface of the water and if you’re nearby, you’ll get zapped. And because you’re at the top of the water it is likely that you’ll get a direct hit from the lightning.
Well – the first thing I’d say is that it’s rare for lightning to strike water. Lightning is charge moving from sky to earth. Water moves charge around pretty well but, unlike land, it’s difficult for water to build up a big clump of charge needed for there to be a big jump from sky to ground level.
Lightning happens because there’s a buildup of charge in the air that’s different to the charge on the ground. Lightning is a redistribution of that charge, so it happens when it can – when the earth is able to take the charge and deal with it, but also where the charge is able to build up on the earth, in response to the buildup in the sky. Water’s not so good at that buildup.
At least I think that’s it. I’m going to think about that a bit more.
Now there will be times when it happens anyway. So lightning will sometimes strike the ocean. All that electrical charge then goes into the ocean. It’s a lot of charge, and if you’re a fish at that moment then you’re probably going to end up looking like you should be next to a plate of chips. It’s bad news. But eventually the charge will just kind of dissipate – get distributed into the water and mix with the rest of the ocean. Even though lightning is amazing and intense, the ocean is HUGE and can easily deal with a few extra bits of charge here and there.
Maybe what you’re thinking of is when you have small bits of water and an electrical power socket. That’s dangerous. Water will conduct electricity, particularly water we drink and bathe in, which isn’t really pure. And usually a bath or sink or whatever is connected to the earth. So electricity can flow from an electrical device, into water and out through some connection to the earth very well. Basically the water is better at conducting charge than the air.
So no power sockets in the bathroom, and never mix electricity and water.
Unfortunately for some fish, a lightning strike to the ocean will result in an untimely frying, though most will be safe due to the way the electrical current moves.
Lightning doesn’t often strike the ocean as the cool surface means that thunderclouds are unlikely to form (compared to warm air over land which does help thunderclouds form). When a lightning strike does on occasion hit the ocean, most of the electrical current spreads out across the surface of the water. Water is a good conductor of electricity, so a person at the surface of the water could be killed by a lightning strike around 25 metres away. The lightning doesn’t go deep into the ocean because of the ‘Skin Effect’ which says that an electrical current will stay on the surface of a good conductor (same thing if you are inside a car which gets struck by lightning. The metal shell is a ‘skin’ which should keep the lightning on its surface).
Fish which are near the surface of the water and the site of the strike will be killed, same deal for humans or anything else stupid enough to be swimming in a thunderstorm. Most fish will be much deeper in the ocean so the electrical charge will never reach them.
Since the ocean is very big, when lighting hits the water, the current spreads out. The current going though any particular of the ocean is so tiny that it doesn’t hurt the fish.
The water in the ocean contains dissolved salts and this helps conduct electricity so most of the lightning stays near the surface. Though if fish are nearby where the lightning hits, they may get hurt or die because some of the electricity from the lightning can travel down into the water.
The reason why we get told to not swim during a thunderstorm is that when the lightning hits the surface of the water, the current from the electricity can travel in different directions of the surface of the water and if you’re nearby, you’ll get zapped. And because you’re at the top of the water it is likely that you’ll get a direct hit from the lightning.
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Well – the first thing I’d say is that it’s rare for lightning to strike water. Lightning is charge moving from sky to earth. Water moves charge around pretty well but, unlike land, it’s difficult for water to build up a big clump of charge needed for there to be a big jump from sky to ground level.
Lightning happens because there’s a buildup of charge in the air that’s different to the charge on the ground. Lightning is a redistribution of that charge, so it happens when it can – when the earth is able to take the charge and deal with it, but also where the charge is able to build up on the earth, in response to the buildup in the sky. Water’s not so good at that buildup.
At least I think that’s it. I’m going to think about that a bit more.
Now there will be times when it happens anyway. So lightning will sometimes strike the ocean. All that electrical charge then goes into the ocean. It’s a lot of charge, and if you’re a fish at that moment then you’re probably going to end up looking like you should be next to a plate of chips. It’s bad news. But eventually the charge will just kind of dissipate – get distributed into the water and mix with the rest of the ocean. Even though lightning is amazing and intense, the ocean is HUGE and can easily deal with a few extra bits of charge here and there.
Maybe what you’re thinking of is when you have small bits of water and an electrical power socket. That’s dangerous. Water will conduct electricity, particularly water we drink and bathe in, which isn’t really pure. And usually a bath or sink or whatever is connected to the earth. So electricity can flow from an electrical device, into water and out through some connection to the earth very well. Basically the water is better at conducting charge than the air.
So no power sockets in the bathroom, and never mix electricity and water.
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Unfortunately for some fish, a lightning strike to the ocean will result in an untimely frying, though most will be safe due to the way the electrical current moves.
Lightning doesn’t often strike the ocean as the cool surface means that thunderclouds are unlikely to form (compared to warm air over land which does help thunderclouds form). When a lightning strike does on occasion hit the ocean, most of the electrical current spreads out across the surface of the water. Water is a good conductor of electricity, so a person at the surface of the water could be killed by a lightning strike around 25 metres away. The lightning doesn’t go deep into the ocean because of the ‘Skin Effect’ which says that an electrical current will stay on the surface of a good conductor (same thing if you are inside a car which gets struck by lightning. The metal shell is a ‘skin’ which should keep the lightning on its surface).
Fish which are near the surface of the water and the site of the strike will be killed, same deal for humans or anything else stupid enough to be swimming in a thunderstorm. Most fish will be much deeper in the ocean so the electrical charge will never reach them.
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Since the ocean is very big, when lighting hits the water, the current spreads out. The current going though any particular of the ocean is so tiny that it doesn’t hurt the fish.
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