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A Fifth Mechanism of Lightning Injury
Author(s) -
Cooper Mary Ann
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
academic emergency medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.221
H-Index - 124
eISSN - 1553-2712
pISSN - 1069-6563
DOI - 10.1197/aemj.9.2.172
Subject(s) - lightning (connector) , medicine , lightning strike , mechanism (biology) , poison control , forensic engineering , medical emergency , meteorology , physics , power (physics) , engineering , thunderstorm , quantum mechanics
The four classic electrical mechanisms of lightning injury cannot account for all injuries. A fifth mechanism, injury by a weak upward streamer that does not become part of a completed lightning channel, has long been postulated in the engineering literature by lightning researchers. This paper reports a case of death where injury from a weak upward streamer is strongly suspected following forensic investigation. Neither high voltage nor any of the previously accepted mechanisms of lightning injury can explain this incident.