Just before getting hit, or being very close to a lightning strike, many people
ID: 1906582 • Letter: J
Question
Just before getting hit, or being very close to a lightning strike, many people (assuming they survive) report feeling a 'tingling feeling on the back of the neck like their hairs standing up on end'. This feeling is real and not to be ignored if you are at a high exposed location. What is causing it? Prior to a lightning strike, various processes cause an excess of electrons to accumulate at the bottom part of a cloud. This means that the bottom part of the cloud is positive, negative, neutral? 2. At the surface of the earth, immediately below the cloud, the ground and anything on it, like you and your neck hair, will become positive, negative, neutral? 3. Once your hair is charged, what force(s) are acting on each hair? Gravity Electrostatic force Normal force A and B A and C 4. explain why you feel your neck hairs stand on end just before (a second or so before) a nearby lightning strike.Explanation / Answer
1. The bottom of the cloud is negative, since it is accumulating electrons. 2. The surface of the earth, and anything on it, will become positive. 3. gravity and electrostatic force will be acting on each hair 4. The large amount of positive charge that appears before a strike charges each hair; since they have the same charge and like charges repel, each hair tries to repel the others -- result is all of them standing on end, taut.
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