Physicists Reveal Why Lightning Is Not Straight, Zig-zag Shaped

Myths about playing cellphones or smartphone when it rains is often heard in the ears of the community. The reason is, playing cellphones when it rains can get a lightning strike.

In fact, when it rains heavily, many people take shelter indoors, under buildings or taller objects. While lightning prefers tall objects to be struck.

Quoting from Accuweatheraccording to John Jensenius, lightning safety specialist for the National Weather Service, the first thing to understand is that nothing actually attracts lightning, but lightning does follow wires and fences and that sort of thing.

“So if you’re on a cell phone, you’re no more likely to be struck by lightning than when you’re not using the phone,” Jensenius said.

“The key is, you want to be somewhere safe so you don’t get hit by lightning whether you have your phone with you or not.”

AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Dan Kottlowski said the same thing.

“It’s where you are that matters more than anything else. If you’re near a cell phone tower, that’s bad because the lightning will come and hit the cell phone tower,” explains Kottlowksi.

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