An American park ranger, Roy Sullivan, who lived in Virginia, was reputedly struck by lightning more times than anyone else in the world. He was first hit in 1942, and received his seventh strike on June 25, 1977. On each occasion Sullivan was injured. He first lost as toenail, then had his eyebrows burnt off, his shoulder was seared, his hair was set alight and his legs were burnt. But he survived.
Lightning can travel between 100 and 1000 miles per second (160 to 1600km per second), and the temperature it generates can reach 54,000ºF (30,000ºC), six times hotter than the surface of the sun. So hat is remarkable is that many people hit by this awesome force do not die, although they are usually burnt quite badly.
Lightning is a spark of electricity caused by the difference in energy between the clouds and the surrounding air or the ground. in cloud-top ground lightning the energy seeks the shorted route to earth, which may be a person out in the open.
This shortest route could be through the shoulder, down one side of the body, through the leg and into the ground. on the way it will cause pain, shock and burns, but the bulk of its energy is discharged into the ground. as long as the lightning does not pass across the heart or spinal column, the victim will probably not die. But if the forces crosses the heart, there is a great risk that it might be damaged , or stop, resulting in instant death.
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