What happens when your car is struck by lightning?

The video above is impressive, but it is also fake. It is a marketing action of a dash cam, those cameras installed on car dashboards to record everything that happens in front of the vehicle. Even so, it does not cease to amaze us and ask us: What happens to the car when it is struck by lightning?

Unlike advertising, there are cases of people walking quietly along the roads when their vehicles served as lightning receivers, as happened to a Canadian couple last year. In their case, the lightning bolt melted some parts and burned the car's power station, causing the airbags to fire and the doors to lock.

To make matters worse, some wires were melted and smoke started to pour into the cab of the van and Al and Betty, who were inside the vehicle, were rescued by a police officer who saw everything happening. Despite the fright, the two suffered absolutely nothing:

The question is: how? Well, you may have heard of some theories as to why the car is safe from lightning, but some information, both positive and negative, is simply not true - such as the myth that vehicle tires will work as well. insulators: the lightning power is HUGE, so there's no point that a little rubber will do the job.

The reason why people don't suffer from the effects of electric shock was long explained by an Englishman named Michael Faraday: In a conductor, the electric charge is concentrated on the surface, causing the center of a hollow object to be zero-charged. This discovery was named "Faraday Cage". In the video below, using a Tesla Coil as a power generator, you can see how the whole thing works:

The cars therefore function as imperfect Faraday Cages, as there are several non-metallic components and other conductive parts that attach to the interior of the vehicle. Either way, the principle still works and the electric charge runs through the exterior of the car - so it is extremely important to avoid any metal surface immediately after lightning.

Remember that in case of storms, you should seek shelter immediately - yes, it can be in a car as long as it is not convertible and is completely closed! - Avoiding being in the open and near trees.