Originally Posted by
Genaro
Correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't you grounded, due to the rubber wheels, therefore not a target for lightning ? Same as a car ?
Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't want to find out.
Yes, you are grounded. That's actually the problem. "Grounded" means that a path is provided for the electricity to travel into the earth (that is, ground) where it can dissipate harmlessly. Lighting rods work because they are grounded (they, along with a connecting metal wire/cable, provide a better path to the ground for the electricity than your house).
Lightning has such high voltage that it will travel down most anything, including rubber and wood. For low voltage, rubber is an insulator, which means electricity doesn't flow through it (which means rubber would be a poor material for a ground).
The reason you are fairly safe in a car isn't because of the rubber tires. It's because electricity travels on the
surface of things and, in a car, you are
inside.
Originally Posted by
LanEvo
Lucky you were not the one hit, not sure what type of material your bike is made of, but any type of metal to conduct electricity, and you would have been the rod for it to hit.
The material (metal or otherwise) really doesn't matter. Lighting strikes trees all the time (and wood is generally a good insulator).
Originally Posted by
Rx Rider
protection from a lighting strike is the electrical field the car creates rather than a grounding from the tires.
??? No. Anyway, the idea (which is wrong) is that the rubber tires
insulate (not ground) you. Insulators
block the flow of electricity, grounds
facilitate the flow.