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Cake day: August 20th, 2024

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  • Height has basically nothing to do with it - it’s the accumulation of static charge in a conductor which produces the dielectric breakdown of air. Even though the human body is a relatively poor conductor, it is still a much better conductor than the ground itself. It makes no difference if your head is 6 feet above the ground or three feet above the ground - you will accumulate charge the same way.

    Also most strikes on people are not direct strikes, but people being close enough to to the primary plasma channel to provide another path to ground. The electric potential required to produce an arc from 5 feet away is orders of magnitude lower than it is from 3 miles up.