壁虎山莊 ™ Geckos' Lair

Just as I was wondering...

First thing first. The title of this post was not deliberately written in the fashion o’ todaealas – which was merely coincidental.

Just as I was wondering, I surmised what amazed me might just baffle you as well. Trivia like this aren’t obvious to most people out there, therefore it proves that my brain has surpass normal therefore I’m trying to highlight the fascinating bits of info as such. I think I’m being modest.

It is general knowledge that water are good conductors of electricity. Highly ionised sea water contains significant amount of salt, hence providing exceptional ability in transmiting electrical energy. Here’s some questions that you could attempt a thought.

What happens to marine creatures when lightning strikes the sea?

No accounts has been reported about floating distorted dugongs drifting along the Pacific Ocean, why?

Are marine organisms fully armored with shock-resistant scales and shells?

What’s the answer? Here’s a clue, fishes do not have superpowers like Electro.

As I started chanting away…
“Fry the fishes! Zap the sharks! Electrocute the whales!
Fry the fishes! Zap the sharks! Electrocute the whales!
Fry the fishes! Zap the sharks! Electrocute the whales!
…”

Yvonne popped out and exclaimed: You very cruel!

Have you made your hypothesis yet? Does shoal of fishes actually encounter mishaps like being shocked by lightning and then swept up to the shore? Of course not, wholly. Try imagining all underwater creatures facing extinction after the monsoon period. Town flooded by myriad varieties of fishes ranging from shrimps to whales. “Wow”, I said.

The crucial element, therefore, lies on the water itself. As long as the fishes are underwater, they're probably okay. Same goes to you. You can always dive deep into a swimming pool during rainy days without getting fried, provided you can tahan for so long, lar?

Basically, lightning stays more on the surface of the water rather than penetrating it, except at the strike point. As water is reasonably considered good conductor, it is able to keep most of the current on the surface. When lightning strikes the water, the current theoretically zips across the surface in all directions. If you are partially submerged in the water, there you go, being partially fried.

Where did I get information like this? From the Net of course. No, I ain’t referring to the fishing net. But rather, the internet.

Lightning-fried fish definitely can’t hold a candle to mom’s home-fried fish.

Posted by 壁虎 at 12:28:00 AM