Abstract

This study has been carried out to test two hypotheses; whether a small metal object such as mobile phones in possession of a human body increases the chances of a direct lightning strike and whether a similar object increases the chances of a side flash. Simulations were done in COMSOL Multiphysics for a metal sphere of radius 10 mm placed at the head level of a 2 m tall human being. A five-meter-tall cylindrical lightning target of resistivity 2.75 GΩ m and 10 nΩ m were considered. The influence of the side flash increases with the size of the metal object and also as its shape deviates from the spherical dimension. The outcomes of the study confidently discard the possibility of a metal object of practically viable size on a human body to influence the direct lightning attachment process. A metal sphere of radius about 22 m or a person of height 8.5 m is required for increasing the possibility of such a direct strike. Thus, the popular public concept is firmly rejected. However, the same metal object may significantly increase the side flash probability if the victim is close to the lightning struck object or inside an unsafe shelter.

摘要

进行这项研究是为了检验两个假设；手机等小型金属物体是否会增加直接雷击的机会，以及类似的物体是否会增加侧面闪光的机会。在 COMSOL Multiphysics 中对一个半径为 10 mm 的金属球体进行了仿真，该球体放置在一个 2 m 高的人的头部高度处。考虑了电阻率为 2.75 GΩ m 和 10 nΩ m 的五米高圆柱形闪电目标。侧面闪光的影响随着金属物体的尺寸及其形状偏离球形尺寸而增加。研究结果自信地排除了实际可行尺寸的金属物体对人体影响直接闪电附着过程的可能性。需要半径约 22 m 的金属球或身高 8.5 m 的人来增加这种直接撞击的可能性。因此，流行的公共概念被坚决拒绝。但是，如果受害者靠近被雷击的物体或在不安全的庇护所内，相同的金属物体可能会显着增加侧面闪光的概率。