“Lightning does not strike a point, it strikes an area,” said John Jensenius, a lightning safety specialist with the National Weather Service. “The physical flash you see strikes a point, but that lightning is radiating out as ground current and it’s very deadly.”
That’s interesting. I have seen lightning split a tree and then follow wires into a house blowing out the wall all long the path of the wires. I have also seen it lift up decking when following underground wires.
But if lightning hits with no lightning rod and ground is equally everywhere I guess I could imagine this result.
I read somewhere that the induced electical field shift near a lightning strike is - while orders of magnitude calmer than the strike itself - still powerful enough to burn, maim and kill.
I think it’s what Wikipedia calls “side splash” in the article on lightning injury?
You make an interesting point; Lapland is known for being relatively flat, often stony and pretty much treeless. I’m sure that contributed to an increased radius.
I did, and I suppose you did as well which would have shown you what I meant and the differences between the Lapland of Finland and the general Sápmi region which is not often referred to as Lapland any more.
In Norway we don’t use the lappland term for that area. That is just the area the sapmi originates for us. I knew that lappland was an official region in Finland, but didn’t know until now that it was an official region in Sweden as well. In Norway however the outlined area roughly consists of Finnmark, Troms, Nordland and Trøndelag.
I guess we didn’t learn Sweden and Finlands regions in elementary school here in Norway in the 90s. I didn’t at least.
Lapland (Sápmi in Northern Sami, Sää’mjânnam in Koltan Sami, Säämi in Inari Sami, Norwegian and Swedish Lappland, Russian Лапландия, Laplandija) is a historical region in the northern part of Fennoscandia in Finland, Sweden, Norway and Russia. [1] The Sámi are the indigenous people of the region.
Lapland does not form a unified administrative region
It’s just that collectively there’s a change trying to stop using any terms with “lapp” in the due to its connotations, but since our language is very different, the connotation didn’t ever transfer and people have no idea it’s offensive in origin. So se do talk about the Sami people, when talking about the indigenous people, but anyone living in that area would be reasonably called “a lapplander”.
Or idk, at least some people I’ve seen online have said it’s been used as an ethnic slur against the indigenous peoples at times, but I can’t find anything of that in Finnish. Which would explain why you call it Sapmi, because that’s the indigenous name for the people and the area and there may have been historical connotations with “lapp”, which we don’t have.
I thought you we’re Finnish from the username sounding a tad Finnish and being on sopuli. And I thought Finns ought to know that despite it being also an administrative region in Finland, it also refers to the whole area.
Thanks for asking, just made me realise why they’ve chosen it.
It’s the Finnish word for a lemming, the animal. And seeing that people using Lemmy are called lemmings…
Lapp is a slur in Norwegian and not much used but I don’t know if it is used as an insult.
Well slurs can be used as insults anyway? My point is that in Finnish “lappalainen” only connotates people living in the North of Finland, Sami or not, and because the term also encompasses not only the north of Finland, but also the larger area, it’d depend on the context, but generally, “lappalainen” as in “lapplander” refers to the Finns, and to refer to the indigenous people you use Sami. But the Sami who live in the north of Finland can thus also be called lapplanders in Finnish, without there being any connotation of a slur. At least I was never aware of the connotation, but to be fair I live in the south of Finland.
Part of the problem is that we have two feet. When lightning strikes the ground nearby, it creates a difference in electric potential between the foot that’s closest to the impact point and the more distant one. If that potential is great enough, then an electric currect can jump through one’s shoe, go up into the body then down the other leg and back to ground.
Laying down only increases the surface area in contact with the ground, so the best thing to do is get inside.
Feet have non-zero surface area so there’s still room for an electric potential between the near and far side of the foot. It’d be smaller so that isn’t an entirely terrible idea, but it is by no means foolproof.
One Problem I could see with that is that your raised foot still needs to go somewhere. And if the resistance through the path up through your leg and to some part of your raised leg and then from there through the air back into the ground is lower than the one of the path through the ground from your lowered foot to the end of the aforementioned path then the lightning would still travel through your lower body.
Electrocuted, basically:
That’s interesting. I have seen lightning split a tree and then follow wires into a house blowing out the wall all long the path of the wires. I have also seen it lift up decking when following underground wires.
But if lightning hits with no lightning rod and ground is equally everywhere I guess I could imagine this result.
Here’s a question with a non-intuitive answer, do you think lightning rods attract lightning or ….
I read somewhere that the induced electical field shift near a lightning strike is - while orders of magnitude calmer than the strike itself - still powerful enough to burn, maim and kill.
I think it’s what Wikipedia calls “side splash” in the article on lightning injury?
You make an interesting point; Lapland is known for being relatively flat, often stony and pretty much treeless. I’m sure that contributed to an increased radius.
Small correction: this was in southwestern Norway; Lapland is in the far north of Finland.
Oh, sorry I just assumed Lapland when I saw reindeer.
Lapland - or Sápmi to be precise, but that’s an even larger area - is in the North of Finland, Sweden and Norway.
When you correct people, double-check that you’re correct.
I spent several weeks in Lapland, and I was nowhere close to Finland at any point
I did, and I suppose you did as well which would have shown you what I meant and the differences between the Lapland of Finland and the general Sápmi region which is not often referred to as Lapland any more.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lapland_(Sweden)
I hope you put more effort and nuance into discussions you have elsewhere!
Idk man. They’re completely in the right. I’ve never heard of anyone thinking Lapland is solely Finnish?
Even the Finnish Wiki doesn’t think that.
Lapland is in Finland. Hardangervidda is in Norway. It is flat as well though.
But isn’t just in Finland.
What do they teach in schools nowadays…?
In Norway we don’t use the lappland term for that area. That is just the area the sapmi originates for us. I knew that lappland was an official region in Finland, but didn’t know until now that it was an official region in Sweden as well. In Norway however the outlined area roughly consists of Finnmark, Troms, Nordland and Trøndelag.
I guess we didn’t learn Sweden and Finlands regions in elementary school here in Norway in the 90s. I didn’t at least.
Its just a different name for the same region.
It’s just that collectively there’s a change trying to stop using any terms with “lapp” in the due to its connotations, but since our language is very different, the connotation didn’t ever transfer and people have no idea it’s offensive in origin. So se do talk about the Sami people, when talking about the indigenous people, but anyone living in that area would be reasonably called “a lapplander”.
Or idk, at least some people I’ve seen online have said it’s been used as an ethnic slur against the indigenous peoples at times, but I can’t find anything of that in Finnish. Which would explain why you call it Sapmi, because that’s the indigenous name for the people and the area and there may have been historical connotations with “lapp”, which we don’t have.
I thought you we’re Finnish from the username sounding a tad Finnish and being on sopuli. And I thought Finns ought to know that despite it being also an administrative region in Finland, it also refers to the whole area.
My mistake.
No worries!
Lapp is a slur in Norwegian and not much used but I don’t know if it is used as an insult.
What does sopuli mean?
Thanks for asking, just made me realise why they’ve chosen it.
It’s the Finnish word for a lemming, the animal. And seeing that people using Lemmy are called lemmings…
Well slurs can be used as insults anyway? My point is that in Finnish “lappalainen” only connotates people living in the North of Finland, Sami or not, and because the term also encompasses not only the north of Finland, but also the larger area, it’d depend on the context, but generally, “lappalainen” as in “lapplander” refers to the Finns, and to refer to the indigenous people you use Sami. But the Sami who live in the north of Finland can thus also be called lapplanders in Finnish, without there being any connotation of a slur. At least I was never aware of the connotation, but to be fair I live in the south of Finland.
Oh, sorry I just assumed Lapland when I saw reindeer.
Lapland - or Sápmi to be precise, but that’s an even larger area - is in the North of Finland, Sweden and Norway.
Thank you, I didn’t know that.
Part of the problem is that we have two feet. When lightning strikes the ground nearby, it creates a difference in electric potential between the foot that’s closest to the impact point and the more distant one. If that potential is great enough, then an electric currect can jump through one’s shoe, go up into the body then down the other leg and back to ground.
Laying down only increases the surface area in contact with the ground, so the best thing to do is get inside.
Can I just stand on one foot then?
Feet have non-zero surface area so there’s still room for an electric potential between the near and far side of the foot. It’d be smaller so that isn’t an entirely terrible idea, but it is by no means foolproof.
I think as long as it doesn’t pass through your heart,you’ll be fine with some cooked flesh
“Fine”. Burns are very serious injuries prone to infection. Internal injuries are way harder to diagnose and treat. That’s a rough combination.
One Problem I could see with that is that your raised foot still needs to go somewhere. And if the resistance through the path up through your leg and to some part of your raised leg and then from there through the air back into the ground is lower than the one of the path through the ground from your lowered foot to the end of the aforementioned path then the lightning would still travel through your lower body.