Question: How can you survive a lightning strike?

Joe Sweeney answered on 17 Mar 2014:

Good one. Lightening is electricity and it behaves just like any electrical device (thought it’s bit more powerful…). For electricity to flow through an object, that object must be made of a material which conducts electricity; not everything does. For instance, a wax candle can’t conduct electricity, and neither can the tyres on a car. This is important because to give out its energy, electricity has to flow to earth; if it can’t do this, then it can’t transfer its energy and there is no danger. So, if you get struck by lightening when you’re in something that is not connected to the ground (like a plane) or if you’re in something that can’t conduct electricity (like a car with non-conducting rubber tyres), you won’t get hurt. However, if you’re sheltering under a tree (which does conduct and is very much connected to the ground) you will probably not survive a lightening strike