A man died and several other people were injured in a thunderstorm off the coast of California. What happens when lightning hits the sea, asks Justin Parkinson. read more
But whenever a lightning strikes, it has no impacts on the sea life as water absorbs entire electricity. Even ships can be struck by lightning. A modern cruise ship is well insulated against a lightning strike, would not stop a burn mark appearing if struck. read more
Research by Nasa shows lightning is more likely to hit land than sea and that it is rare for strikes to occur in deep ocean areas. Waters just off coasts are more often affected. Risks also vary according to seasons. read more
Let's imagine a hypothetical wire formed by sea water which has a length, $L$ and cross sectional area, $S$. There are approximately $\frac{2\pi L^2}{S}$ of those wires in a hemisphere of radius $L$. The resistance of such a wire would be $\frac{\rho L}{S} $, where $\rho$ is resistivity of sea water. read more