In the U.S. over 2,000 people die each year from lightning strikes. The chance of being struck in a year is 1 in 700,000 and the chance of being struck in a lifetime is 1 in 3,000. Even with this low likelyhood of being struck it's good to know what's safe and unsafe. Have you ever wondered if it's safe to use a cell phone during a lightning storm? The use of cell phones during a lightning storm is becoming a more and more important topic in this electronic world. Is it really safe?
Photograph by William R. Curstinger
It is safe to use a cell phone during a lightning storm. As long as the phone has no cord attaching it to a house or building, it's safe. Stay indoors, if possible, during a lightning storm. It has been studied that if a cell phone is used outdoors during a storm it reduces flashover, or the ability that skin has to resist the production of electricity throughout the body. If a body's flashover is decreased then being struck by lightning can do much more damage to internal organs. A 15-year-old girl in London was struck by lightning while using her cell phone. She had been outside at the time and she lived. There is controversy over what caused this accident; was it the cell phone that attracted the lightning, or was is just the fact that she was outside during a lightning storm? Scienceline.org says "Think about how small a cell phone is and really think about how small you are compared to the buildings and structures around you." Whether or not cell phones attract lightning, stay indoors during lightning storms, it's much safer.
Houses are grounded safely most of the time, but a house can accidentally be grounded unsafely with gutters, plumbing, etc. If you use a phone that is connected to the house by a cord there is a larger chance of being shocked. Don't use corded phones, if you need to make a call during a storm use a wireless phone. It may seem as if it's very unlikely to get struck, but 100 bolts of lightning strike the planet every second.
Lightning striking house: http://www.livescience.com/environment/060622_lightning_mobile.html
First picture of lightning: http://www.scienceline.org/2006/07/11/ask-thompson-cellphone/
Second Picture, Lightning striking water: http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/photos/lightning-general/lightningoverwater.html
http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/natural-disasters/lightning-profile.html
http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/natural-disasters/lightning-interactive.html
http://www.ehow.com/how_4420007_be-safe-during-thunderstorm.html
http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/local/articles/0624clay0625.html
9 comments:
I thought this was really interesting, but it makes sense that it wouldn't increase the odds of being hit too much. I would think the lightning would be more attracted to the larger pieces of metal around you than the small bit that is in your phone. This also makes me wonder if they’re other hazardous things to do if you find yourself out in a storm.
I agree with that too. How could a little cell phone in your pocket attract lightning when there are so many buildings around? But then what if there aren't any buildings or other metal around? Then I would think the cell phone potentially could attract lightning.
Oh yeah, good point. I had forgotten about that being a possibility. Do you know how they were able to test this, because I can't see anyone willingly volunteering for it.
This was really interesting. I had always thought it was really dangerous to use any phone during a storm. But it makes sense that a cell phone would attract lightening when there are so many other things around. So is every electronic safe to use in a storm if it is not attatched to a cord? Good job, Maddie, this was really good!
I don't think a person would test this, but I'm not really sure. Maybe they would just set a cell phone outside or something but other than that I wouldn't know how to test this. And yes, any phone that's not connected to the house is safe to use INDOORS. There is controversy over whether or not it's safe to use them outdoors but indoors is safe.
huh...thats really interesting! I never thought anything about the connection between lightning and cellphones! Would you still be okay if you had rubber soles on your shoes, because I heard that if you have rubber touching the ground then you would be safe from being shocked in a lightning storm, even though you are on a cellphone?
Would using a cellphone outside during a lightning storm increase the chance of being struck if there weren't many buildings around,like maybe at a farm or in a field?
This an interesting topic and you did a good job describing all of the aspects of it. Your stats were really good and it is hard to believe that the chances of being struck are so little.I Have always heard that a house was a safe place but apparently I was wrong. Once again great job
That was a very well written response to your myth. I myself had thought that cell phones increase the chances of being struck by lightning, and I was surprised to learn that it is in fact safe to use cell phones during a lightning storm. I was very intrigued to find out that it is actually safer to use a wireless phone than a corded phone during a lightning storm. Good job!
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