如果你在暴風雨中被困在了一個大空地的中央,下面那套衣服最可能讓你活命?一套厚雨衣 超人外套 中世紀盔甲套裝 還是一絲不掛?如果你說“中世紀盔甲套裝”聽上去可能有些瘋狂 不過你是對的。
You'd be crazy,of course,because lightning is much more likely to strike metal than to strike rubber,afbric,or bare skin.The reason is that lightning bolts are just long streams of fast-flowing electrons looking for the easiest path from point A to point B,and no everyday material provides an easier path than metal.So why would a material that lures lightning bolts keep you safe during a thunderstorm?
當然 這的確很瘋狂,因為與橡膠 布或者赤裸的皮膚相比 閃電更容易擊中金屬。這是因為閃電其實是一長束快速流動的電子 它尋找著從A點到B點的最易路徑,常見的材料在制造最易路徑上都比不上金屬。那么為什么吸引閃電的材料 卻能在暴風雨中讓你更安全?
Ironically,for the exact same reason it attracts the the lightning in the first place:Metal is a great conductor of electricity.Electrons glide so easily over metals that they barely penetrate into the surface.And if an electrical current happens to be moving over a hollow metal container,like a can or a box or even a welded coat of armor,the current won't reach the inside of the container.
諷刺的是 亦正出于這個原因 它首先會吸引閃電:金屬是電的良導體。電子在金屬內(nèi)部流動十分順暢 它們很少穿到金屬表面。如果電流恰好流過一個中空的金屬容器,比如一個罐子 盒子甚至一套盔甲,電流并不會觸及容器內(nèi)部。
Physicists call this kind of container a Faraday cage.Or,in the case of the steel-woven clothing worn by linemen working on high-voltage wires,a Faraday suit,In fact,your car is an everyday example of a Faraday cage,which is why,despite what you may have heard about rubber tires,it's actually the closed metal body surrounding you that keeps you safe.It channels lightning around,rather than through you.
物理學家稱這樣的容器為 法拉第籠?;蛘?那些工作在高壓線上的 布線工人身上穿的鋼絲編織的衣服,法拉第服。實際上 你的車就是一個常見的法拉第籠,這就是為什么 即便你可能聽說過橡膠輪胎的作用 但其實 正是你周圍的鋼鐵骨架在保護你的安全。它將閃電導向周圍 而不穿過你身體。
Of course,if you're away from your car and get caught in an open field during a storm,chances are flim that you'll have a medieval coat of armor or high voltage line-suit handy.In that case,whether you're naked or in costume,your body unfortunately happens to be a better electrical conductor than both air and soil,so it provides a great shortcut for traveling current.
當然 如果暴風雨來臨時 你被困在空地 身邊沒有車,你手頭也很可能有世紀盔甲或者高壓服。在這種情況下 無論你穿沒穿衣服,很不幸 你的身體恰巧比空氣和土地的導電性更好,這就為流動的電流創(chuàng)造了良好的捷徑。
Stand upright,and you're the fastest route for a descending lightning bolt.Lie down,and you're the best path for current racing along the ground from a nearby strike.So the best thing to do is crouch low and keep your feet close together.Crouching low is obvious.But similarly important,when your feet are right next to each other,your legs don't make for much of a shortcut for the current to get from A to B.
直立時 你成為了閃電劈下時的最快路徑。躺下時 你是附近閃電擊地時 電流流過地面 的最佳路徑。最好的辦法是蹲下身子 雙腳盡量靠在一起。蹲下身子很好理解。但同樣重要的是 當你的雙腳緊靠在一起時,你的雙腳并不會構(gòu)成讓電流從A點流到B點的捷徑!
And even if they are the best path for the lightning,when your feet are the only thing touching the ground,then the current will most likely travel up one leg and down the other,missing critical organs like your heart-something these cows couldn't avoid.
同時 即使它是了閃電的最佳路徑,在你僅用雙腳接觸地面的時候,電流很可能從一條腿流上去 再從另一條流下來,避開了心臟等關鍵器官 而牛卻沒法避免這種事。
But,actually,the real best thing to do is avoid lightning altogether and head indoors when you spot a storm on the horizon.
不過 其實 最好的方法是從根本上躲開閃電 在你看到遠方的暴風雨時躲到室內(nèi)。