admin — December 12, 2007, 2:56 pm

Myths and Facts Revealed

When you were growing up, you probably heard all kinds of stories about lightning. In this post, we'll talk about some of the ideas you've probably heard. Some of the popular conceptions about lightning are true; others are not. We've talked about some of these beliefs in previous posts, so we'll link to other posts [...]

admin — October 25, 2007, 3:16 pm

Myth: Lightning never strikes the same spot twice

File this one under "things you know that just aren't so," right next to "humans only use 10% of their brains" and "science says bumblebees can't fly:"
Lightning never strikes the same place twice.
The fact is, lightning doesn't have a memory. Thunderheads don't keep a record of where they've sent lightning bolts before, and in many [...]

admin — October 23, 2007, 4:54 pm

How Stuff Works: Faraday Cage

If you know anything about lightning, you probably know that you're safe from lightning inside a car–at least as long as you aren't touching anything metal.
A lot of people believe that the car's rubber tires act as an insulator, and that this is the reason a car is safe during a lightning storm. This is [...]