Thunderstruck!
Classical Mechanics
Level
2
Which suit is ideal to wear during thunderstorms, given that you are struck by lightning?
Suit made up of plastic
Suit made up of semiconductor
Suit made up of rubber
Suit made up of metal
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2 solutions
Moderator note:
Great detailed explanation of the physics behind this problem.
This is kind of like protecting yourself from sharks by forcing it to swallow you whole because you are wearing an indigestible metal suit, and so maybe you'll come out at the other end in one piece.
A metal suit will drastically increase your chances of being hit by lightning, but you'll have a better chance of surviving a hit.
The electric field around conducting material depends on the shape of the material, so that it be "concentrated" where there is a kink or protrusion of the material. Which is why lightning rods work--they do in fact direct bolts to it where it could have otherwise hit the building in other places if there wasn't a lightning rod. Then in order for the current pass safely toward the ground, there has to be a continuous insulated conductor to the ground. If one is inside, say, a knight's armor, not only it certainly stands out from the "flat non-conducting ground", thus inviting lightning strikes in the same way lightning rods work, conduction from the head to the feet isn't necessarily as smooth and safely carried out, because of all the kinks, corners, and discontinuities of a typical knight's armor. Even if the person inside could survive a direct lightning hit, the person is very likely to suffer burns and electric shocks nonetheless. This is the reason why people should not be touching metallic surfaces inside a car, even as the car affords protection in a lightning storm.
Unless one is wearing a very carefully designed "Faraday suit", it would be very dangerous for one to be out in a lightning storm in "a metal suit". The trade-off here is improving survival of a direct lightning hit versus increased risk of actually getting hit. An lightning bolt in a thunderstorm is far more powerful than anything generated in a laboratory, except perhaps the Z-machine at Sandia Labs.
Check out this illustration and explanation about the electric field about a conductor