Why Doesn't Lightning Take The Shortest Path?
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- Опубліковано 12 вер 2024
- In this video I show you why lightning and sparks don't take the shortest path when they occur. I talk about lightning and where it is likely to strike. Should you actually hide near a tree during a thunderstorm?
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"When you are outside during a thunderstorm, you either die or you die.
Hey everyone thanks for watching!"
That optimism..
LOL
he's just being realistic
I will survive out of spite...
Hopefully
Honestly I've heard more about people dying from sharks in a lake, than by lightning.
@@legendrising3387
Honestly, I have heard more people dieing from falling coconut on their head on beaches than by sharks.
When I worked as a delivery driver for a pizza restaurant, one thing I quickly found out is that the shortest path between the restaurant and the customers house is not always the fastest path.
Please explain further
@@gilles466
Housing developments quit using a simple grid pattern decades ago. If the customer's house is located diagonally across the development you are faced with slower speed limits multiple stop and yield signs and streets that curve around and intersect in odd places. Getting on a major street with higher speed limits and fewer stops and going around the development and entering at the spot closest to the customers house is most often the fastest way there even if you have to travel further. And when you are delivering freshly cooked pizzas and side items, a shorter delivery time is critical to customer satisfaction.
Just like lightning. The shortest path may have the most resistance to electrical flow so it takes the path of least resistance instead.
@@oldtimefarmboy617 I see. Thanks for explaining!
Similarly, taxi drivers seem to have also realised that the shortest/fastest path to your destination does not optimize the amount of money they make...
@@oldtimefarmboy617 Nice analogy! On a lighter note, I too always believed that lightning takes the path of least resistance. It doesn't seem to be the case! :: 4:09
Thanks for sharing the shadow radius equation. I’d never heard of that tid bit! What would be interesting to know, is how much energy is dissipated in the process of searching for a connective path to ground. Every stepped leader must amount to millions of joules.
Love your channel
big fan!
Third
Only 28 likes??!!
Heyyy when are you going to post new stuff, Jay???
Lighting : *coming towards me*
Friends : *run!*
Me : *wait lemmi bring out my calcula--*
Just throw a glass rod at your friends
Make them hold it up high and watch from a distance
and then you come to the conclusion that it's gonna hit you
fun fact. if you divide the seconds between, seeing a lightning flash and afterwards, hearing the thunder. by 3, then you know how much kilometers the lightning was away. if you see a flash and you hear the Thunder 6 seconds later. then the lightning stroke into the ground 2 kilometers away.
Rather:
Lightning: coming towards you
Lightning: striking you and your friends
Lightning: killing you and your friends
Your bodies: wait imma gonna reac-
Me: "so where is the safest spot in a thunderstorm?"
Action Lab: "Basically everywhere you're as equally dead."
The only safe place would be next to a properly wired lightning rod I suppose.
@@IronHexacyanoferrate Yeah, in the city. When you are in open area, there is no luck. That's why you should run on the open area when there is a sign of thunder will occur. Don't stay on there.
Actually, if you are around something taller than you, you are pretty safe as long as your feet are toghether. This minimizes the voltage difference between your feet when the lightning reaches ground. If your feet were a meter apart, like when walking, a voltage difference would appear between your legs and thus the lightning would climb up and down your legs
@Stephen Ferree if your hair starts to stand on end run lightning is about to strike there
The safest you can be is laying down on the floor lightning always tries to hit the tallest or a metal object so if you are on the ground chances it won’t strike where you are and if you are stuck in a tornado (mentioning this because it’s similar) then find a ditch to stay in if you are in like the open area and if it seems like the tornado is getting bigger it’s actually coming toward you and how come humanity hasn’t found a way to prevent tornadoes which are a mixture of cold air going down and hot air going up at the same spot then they go in a loop and it turns into a tornado so why when it still hasn’t happened have they not spotted a warm and cool spot then increase the air in either one of both that why it’s unbalanced and a tornado doesn’t happen
Me: "so where is the safest spot in a thunderstorm?"
Action Lab: Well it is a "die die" situation.
Heaven is the safest spot in a thunderstorm
So many comments admitting they don’t understand electricity at all. And that’s fine, it’s not for everybody. But still, the shadow radius is a real phenomena. And some of us like to be outside often. We’re happier people that way. If someone can’t imagine a 60 m radius up in the air and figure out how not to stand too close to a tree that might explode from a lightning strike but yet not stand out in the open field either, it’s most likely best to stay inside always.
actually safest place would be in your vehicle if you have one.
but even that isn't perfectly safe.
it'll protect you from the current but it wont protect you if the vehicle decides to explode because. fuel and spark :)
@@logangraham2956 Airplane lightning strikes are extremely common, but the same effect saves you. Luckily they are designed so the fuel doesn't explode.
I am always impressed with people who not only know their subject matter but can communicate it simply and with clarity. This person is incredibly gifted in teaching these subjects. Well done!
There's an einstein quote there if i could be bothered.
"If you can't explain it to others in simple way, then you haven't understood it well"
On
Oh my gosh!! Nature is so beautiful!! Did anyone notice that the lightning follows similar principles as that of roots? Roots grow towards any area that has water and branch out to increase the surface area, and lighting also goes along the easiest path to disperse its charge and branches out to increase it's effectiveness.
Thats a good observation! I often see similar patterns in tree roots/branches when looking at lightning channels flowing through the air.
My father worked at Metro Scales (he installed scales for semi-trucks). He was packing to go home at the end of his shift and lightning struck the metal tool box. It followed through him and down his hip where he had a metal pin (he had a hip replacement) then down the ground. Doctors say standing in a puddle and the rubber on his boots saved his life. Had a strike of lightning touched the ground about 5 ft away from my dog. Here in FL, USA, it doesn't have to be raining (or storming) for lightning to occur.
That's Pretty incredible. Thanks for sharing!
Believers: God blessed him.
Yea, I lived in florida, sounds accurate man. Its crazy down there! Glad your dads okay!
How's that the puddle saved him? You mean a water puddle?
F
I absolutely love how detailed and specific your videos are. You make conveying information look easy.
I used to work as an electric utility meter reader. I've been running around outside in all weather. I was never directly hit but on two occasions I was within a 20-30 meters and got knocked onto my 4th point of contact. Those were enLightening experiences.
Ba dam tis
@@tonuahmed4227 Not sure that I'm tracking. Are you meaning the drum at the punch-line? 'Cause it left a bigger tingle than anything in the percussive-instrument category.
@@matthewellisor5835 yes...sorry if it made it awkward
step/touch voltages
l remember you playing with this when you were a kid, very interesting!
A major precaution : Don't stand near a tree not only because you will get shocked but also because the water inside the tree will evaporate and exert pressure on the walls of the tree due to which the tree will shatter on you .
One night there was a lightning strike into the forest next to our house. When I went there the tree was decimated, with multiple up to 10 meter large vaguely toothpick shaped shards scattered all around.
The electricity travels through the root system too . My mom was on a camping trip one time and a guy was killed in his tent because the roots were under his tent .
@@76biggdogg unfortunate
Also, lightning tends to cut entire branches off, and they can fall on you.
So don't go near trees or else boom boom?
0:24 so basically my parents playing with this thing at night
I love how you continually go from “dumbed down simple” to “complex satisfying descriptions”
seamlessly!
I’m happy to have gotten people who aren’t that interested in physics and science watching your videos, all of a sudden they are learning things they would have never cared about if I or others had told them, then listening to them tell me how cool it is.
Hahaha
i think we watched a different video then.
@@Layarion
Referring to the channel as a whole
👍
I /LOVE/ this channel! It’s so relaxing and answers questions that I had never even thought of before! Thank you, Action Lab Guy and keep up the good work! ☺️
I don't know why the action lab gets less views according to his potential and he provides awesome content 💯
Because his content style has changed from what it was a couple years ago and a lot of people myself included it don't like the very minor changes that he has made
You might almost call his potential.. an electric potential 😂
now people only like colorful explanation and some explosive music and doing some cool glycerin detonation they dont like the explanation and the theory behind it....
Yup ....this channel is best for science 👌
@@ezrakirkpatrick5365 😂
If u are tallest thing around, ⚡ hits u
if u are near tallest thing, ⚡ hits u.
Meanwhile
Lightning : LOL
LOL
LOL
LOL
Rubber insulator: LOL
Me inside a Faraday cage: LOL
Moral of the story: Don't be outside during a thunderstorm 😭😭😭
your house will get struck if u are in it so just go underground
@@dariobasch7874 but the house will release the electrical charges in the ground, so you should use crocs
@@wilson2583 use geta instead
get in a car if possible. safest place other than being indoors
@@ThereminHero actually yes but do not touch the outside of your car after it gets struck
I watched a guy at the door yelling at his mom to get inside suddenly fly across the room when the house shook with thunder. We found a burn mark about 10 inches from the door frame after the storm. Somehow she was not hurt about 20 feet away. He wasn’t hurt either, just really surprised
Another one of my childhood queries solved by the action lab thankyou.
Cool
This man has a magic box that produces Sith lightning.
You can''t avoid getting hit by a lightning if you're outside, but you can lower the chances if roll yourself up into a ball, just like an armadillo do, if you can't make it to a shelter.
One can do that even when it is sunny and clear. You know... just for fun.
@Adarsh Chaturvedi did you mean it can strike a car but it won't hurt you if you're inside the car?
@Adarsh Chaturvedi Doesn't seem to be the case. You can find photos and even videos of lightning strikes to a car. "Yes, cars are more likely to get hit by lightning but can also serve as a protective shield for people inside the car. When lightning strikes a car, it hits the outer metal surfaces like the antenna and the roof and moves along with the metal frame."
@Adarsh Chaturvedi cause your not grounded in a car.
@@vsm1456 Exactly, the car acts as Faraday cage.
We were out camping one time, it was a festival of some kind, few years ago. Music, drinking, all that, but the weather changed in like an hour or two, and a lighting struck a dude literally 20 meters from our camp. Huge flash, absolutely horrific bang that still makes me shit myself lol. The dude ended up in the hospital, he lived tho, all good in the end. But man, the noise was incredible, we all just started crying from the intense fear our bodies were going through. Insane energy
Really interesting
- I could think that the easiest way to ionize is not a straight line, so that's why lightning (and other electric arcs) take a jagged path, but I didn't know that arcs can travel easier along the surface of an insulator, the way shown here. That was quite cool.
0:40
Now that's what I call electronic music
This is so dope
Yup. Lightning is cool
🚭
Bruh
Hello verified person
@@WowNoob333 yup pretty much
1:04 I love his tiny flinches every time he gets shocked.
Yes, don't shelter under a tree during a thunderstorm - if struck, the sap inside the tree literally explodes and will kill anyone or anything near it!
fresh, hot tree sap
Is this actually true??
@@DANGJOS Yes it is. It happens because lightning is extremely hot and when it strikes the tree, the sap immediately starts to boil and destroys the tree by the pressure
@@georgetheconqueror2574 But has it ever killed anyone by sap itself, or is it just the explosion caused by it?
@@DANGJOS I have actually seen a tree struck about 300 yards away, me and two mates and dog were walking in a beet field. It split in two with this massive BANG. Bugger did we run - the dog was faster than us lol This was about 25 years ago.
Some of, if not all, of your videos are very descriptive and in detail and always peak my interest. Thanks for the great videos man!
You would be the best teacher! None of my teachers were ever this interesting, and you motivate me to learn about science every time you post. Thank you ♡ I almost got hit by lightning twice in five minutes, last year in my parking lot while running towards my car in a storm. There were burn marks on the asphalt; was scary as hell! 😅
Wow that was scary.. Good thing you didn't get strike by it
@@wrathspecter6100 yes!
I've said this many times before in the comments but you really do have a great channel! The topics you pick, the explanations, drawings, animations and video clips you give/include are so well done! You have one of the top 10 channels I've ever seen! I have never been bored or disappointed with any of your videos. The only things I would change would be longer videos and more frequently. Your videos are so good, the more there are and the longer they are would always be welcomed! I'm not complaining one bit though, you must spend many hours+ on each video and you post them quite often. I don't think I'd change anything you are doing, you've got this totally figured out!
You do one hell of a great job! Thank you and take care!!!
amazing!
i hope you will be doing these videos for years and years to come. dont ever stop!
0:35 this one is now my favorite music.
I was watching the lightning from inside a barn when the power pole 200 feet away. I could feel the electricity come up from the ground and shock me. It was a very weird feeling.
200 feet? I was about 25 to 30 feet away from an antenna that was stuck and i barely felt the ground current.
I’m pretty sure there are a lot of variables that determine how far the “feeling” of electrical current can be felt.
Had a friend who's dad died, lightning struck a manhole and electrified the pipes
0:46
"What kind of music do you listen to"
Me: "it's uh, complicated, let's just say electronic".
3:00
"I'm emulating nature mom! Let me play my video games" lmao
Except you don't use the least amount of energy when playing video games. There are puzzles, shooting, skills, fighting etc. TV takes less amount of energy.
Finally a concise answer for a Long time question that I have had!!
Friend : what kind of music do you like?
Me : 0:35
0:36. You just showed me my new favorite sound fx machine. Thanks bigtime
Sounds kinda like 8-bit.
When lightening strikes, its the thunder that scares the freak out of me. My heart literally dances gangnum style for two seconds 😂😂😂
Yeah me too🤣🤣
For me it's actually the lightning. because, it come first and when it comes, you are sure that there will be a thunder
Distant thunder sounds so sick. But when it's really close and loud, it's a true jumpscare 🤣
Gungam style
When studying Plant Science in college, the professor explained how plants will send out exploratory rootlets into the ground, then focus its energy on growing the ones that found water. Always did marvel how lighting looked like fibrous plant roots.
if plants aren't aware why do sunflowers track the sun
I’ve wondered this but never got into finding out why.
Because the lightning remembered the final lesson: "the shortest path was always a detour"
Jojo referfence
@@soupfork7893 my man
That was excellent. Thanks for always finding these kind of edge cases in physical phenomena and explaining them so well!
🚂🚂🚂
🚂🚂🚂🚂
🚂🚂🚂🚂🚂
3 Trains
This was actually REALLY interesting. Earned a sub
So either way we're gonna get struck by lightning and die. ✨ Seems perfect ✨
it's actually super unlikely for you to die if you're struck by lightning
There is a man who reported being struck by lightning 7 times and okay. (struck or almost?) I don't remember exactly. :|
@@frostsmaker8966 so you're telling me that there's a chance that I can be The Flash? 👁️👄👁️
@@spark9189 Not that unlikely if you are a golfer, because Zeus doesn't like golf
@@redghost001 Hohohoho,... I am The Fastest Man Alive,... I am The Flash. :D
Your impressive commitment to science (and to self-harm 💥 ⚡️ ) knows no limits!
#electroBOOM collab...love you both
Nobody :
Short people during a thunderstorm: 💆💃💪👼
"in order to not get struck by lightning you don't want to be the tallest thing around, you don't want be in open space without anything else caused you will be the tallest thing but to stay close in the tallest thing but you will also attracted then"
I give up
@Adarsh Chaturvedi its not a fact brainiac.
@Adarsh Chaturvedi huh?
What’s hard to understand about a radius from a point up in the air? If you’re outside that radius you’re safe from the other objects inside the radius.(tree, ground)
This was really knowledgeable....i actually understood everything. Good job
Dr. brown would be happy , Great Scott, 1.21 giga watt !!, Remember ?
Your not going to find that kind of power in 1955.
When we were dodging lightning storms on extended canoe trips, we'd go to shore and hide in the trees, but we'd stay squatting on our PFDs (life jackets) to provide an insulator for the ground shock. Still scary, but seemed to be effective!
So that’s how Electronic Dance Music was created🤯
Yeh I was ....shocked.....to find out.
Great summery!. There is a lot of cool stuff behind lightning, like step leaders, what direction it happens in, leaders, sprites, positive and negative, and thunder sounds change based on a lot of these!
I was next to an antenna that was hit by lightning I definitely felt the ground current running through my feet with shoes on.
I've waited for an explanation like this for so long, thank you soooo much
i wish my physics teacher were like this
he doesnt explain anything like you do
it is so hard to maintain the good grades when the teacher is inadequate
This would not be adequate for a physics lesson. You still need to learn the math involved.
Yep! Our new physics sir is so boring he just reads from the book and doesn't even explain anything😢
@@Vivacious_Varenya_ Yep, hard to learn with no practical application in-mind.
@@MrT------5743 i don't mean this particular thing i mean physics in general
he just writes a problem on the whiteboard and then solves it without explaining
@@MrT------5743 So true.
Totally summed up when you said, "Nature is frugal. It likes to do things that take the least amount of energy." :)
E.g., the shortest path from my lawn to my roof is to directly climb the side of the house, but that will require energy & new ability to climb to walls. Using a ladder becomes the "least" difficult path, although not the shortest.
I thought it does!
I thought it would take shortest paths...
I love ur videos
Apart from the antropomorfe expressions for a lighting looking for something and nature being frugal, eut another excellent video format the curious minds
Can we appreciate the fact that he shocked himself just to make the video
Ikr like when I saw that I was just *SHOCKED* that he would do that for us!
@@Nezha_Main Lol, i get the joke
6:28 shadow radius.. Its the save area if lightning strikes occurs..
6:48 but alert because it's at risk of being exposed to a lightning strike that verses on the ground after striking the tree
0:30 imagine getting f**king rickrolled by this thing
😂😂
that would be very unlucky
Phew i thought it was not a rickroll
He is something like the one we were always waiting for🥰
Love your videos they are informative and exciting ❤️👍🏻
exciting
@@thesemittenzarefruitflavored 😅
You deserve way more views and subs. Great content
01. Good Morning
02. Good Evening
03. Good Afternoon
04. Good Night
05. Good Bye
06. Good Luck
WTF
07. Good Grief
@@specialed6357
Good Boy
I would have loved for you to have played the GlaDos song on that thing.
Person: near a tall tree
Lightning1: Hits tree and it is on fire
Tree: ... is now ash
Lightning2: *bubu de bu..*
what
me and the person above dont get the referance
I get it, its that the lightning makes the sound and the person near the tree and me dont know who asked for you to make this joke
no reference, just mild thunder
Fascinating video man thanks! I only ever thought of holes in terms of semiconductors, not insulators. Interesting. I have so much more to learn!
My wicked mind wants to see the mini-tesla turned into an alarm clock, playing disorted Skrillex tracks at earblasting volumes until you shock yourself awake to turn it of.
That's genius
Your experiments are captivating and also teach the theory behind it. Loved it👍
IM FINALLY EARLY
No😂
Let's see how many subs this comment can get me
Excellent analysis, demonstrations and video productions.
Im early🎉🎉
Btw I'm from the philippines
Pinoy ka and meron ankong news an china ay mangsasakop ngayon tago kayo drill nang ito
Amazing.
You should visit the facility in northern Florida where they study this.
Girls: Isnt it weird that we live longer than a boy?
Boys:
I really enjoy your work.
Thank you
Lighting doesn't take shortest path. It cannot calculate distance, because lighting is bad at Math and Physics😂.
So i'm a lightning?
During thunder storm: there is you and a single tree in the plains
Me: guess I'll die
7:23 "So, you're kinda fucked." Lol No suggestions on how not to die if you're suddenly in that predicament?
If you crouch down and stand on one leg, it'll greatly reduce the amount of charge current that can go through you if lightning strikes nearby.
Re this whole video (and in particular 2:52, 4:09), I think it could be safely argued that it *does* take the “shortest path” or even “the path of least resistance”, it’s just that the simple models we tend to have in our heads for what “shortest path” or “least resistance” mean don’t accurately model all the factors involved in the phenomenon of ionizing electrical sparks (lightning or otherwise). Thank you, though, for a nice explanation of at least a few of the other factors in the equation for the real phenomenon.
Because it takes the path of least resistance. Will watch the video still
U were wrong Lol😭
@@koushiksringeri I was not. ionizing the air is still the path of least resistance. If electron wants to go from a to b, it is going to take the easiest path. This is exactly how lightning works.
Could you avoid the ground current going through you by standing on only one leg?
Jacobs ladder demonstrates this as well. The ionized gas above the spark allows it to travel up the rails getting longer until it's too wide even with an ionized path. The original gap then becomes the only choice and the cycle repeats
Really interesting, especially the tree shadow part!
Also, say the word *metric* ! A path can be the shortest but not measured with distance, but with time or energy required.
Freeze frame 0:58 and the first strike is in line with the shortest path or the path of least resistance. Lighting always takes this path and it is highly attracted to something that can conduct it along this path.
There is also this phenomena called a side flash (was explained during the man standing next to a tree). Its basically when any structure is struck by lightning. The charge itself may run through wiring and can jump between wiring/ sockets/grounded pipes etc. Although rare it does happen
The music at 0:36 is pretty nice ngl
This is a good vid!
1:05
My favorite still frame in this video.
Really well explained.
A shocking good video! The principle of least action and learning about Emmy Noether helps me appreciate this all the more.
Ahh this finally explains the question I had from childhood, why the electronic current travels better in a burning flame?
Path of least resistance? The common pattern of mycelial branching, the jagged veiny pattern, is the pattern of something taking the path of least resistance. “Path that is easiest to ionize” I think describes that search.
interesting thanks!!!!! i like the way you explained
7:16 And that's not even taking into account the fact the tree might catch fire and/or fall over and/or explode.
Wow thanks for brief explanation
Amazing. Now i know what to do during a thunderstorm.