My house and its surroundings have been struck 5 times in 24 years,
so I've had ample opportunity to witness first-hand strikes just
like this one and their aftermath.
Electricity does indeed take the path of least resistance...but do
not forget that lightning is a meeting of charges between the earth
and the clouds, and the visible strike is actually travelling UP
from the ground and not down from the clouds. The tree would
present the perfect conduit for the lightning to connect with the
cloud, and would have already built a charge in the second or two
before impending strike. Only upon connection does the lightning
conduct electrical heat, and that for only several
miliseconds...often not enough time for the leaves or other objects
to actually burn. Think about waving your hand quickly through a
flame...go fast enough and you suffer no burns. Same concept.
The aftermath picture is most definately the residue of a strike.
I have a tree in my front yard with the very same pattern on it
from a hit 2 years ago. Amazingly, the tree often survives if it
was healthy and has a high sap content. Trees that don't do as
well in lightning are drier trees or dying trees, which have lower
sap content, and often have air pockets within the trunk. These
can cause the trunk to explode when the electricity immediately
combusts the sap and the air pocket contains the gases. I HAD a
palm tree in my backyard that was struck 14 years ago which was
literally blown in two, with the top 25 feet of the tree landing in
my pool while the remaining stump sat burning until the fire
department came to put it out.
And the lightning in that shot isn't necessarily following the air
gaps between the leaves...it is likely following a branch off the
main trunk which cannot be seen under the white of the lightning.
That plus the movement of the bolt and the blown-out glow from it
make it look as if it is flowing among the leaves.
As for the diameter of the bolt...the incredible brightness of
lightning is very hard to capture on film and often results in
blowing out the film (or sensor)...what you are seeing here is a
blown-out image of lightning making it appear fatter than it is.
Also, a lightning bolt meanders and arcs while it is connecting
from ground to cloud, and this very fast movement at that white hot
intensity would all be picked up by the sensor as one continuous
thick ribbon.
I've had televisions burned out, lightbulbs shattered in their
sockets, roof tiles blasted off, trees blown in half, and glass
blows formed under my lawn - all from lightning. It can do amazing
things.
This one looks as authentic as any I've seen.
Great shot, by the way...not for the technical side, just for the
sheer luck and coolness of capturing such a moment and from such a
close distance!
1. Electricity (lightning) takes the path of least resistance.
That path is down the tree-trunk, just below the bark where the
tree-sap runs (a good conductor). The path would not be through
all the air-gaps between the leaves.
2. The heat of the lightning sould have instantly fried those leaves.
3. The actual lightning bolt is about an inch in diameter. While
the brightness of this will overwhelm your CCD, it still looks
suspiciously large.
Of course, I could be wrong...
--
Justin
