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While there is still debate within the scientific community as to the exact nature of the process, most believe that cloud-to-ground lightning originates when conditions within a thunder head strip electrons from rising water vapor to create an electrical field. Free electrons gather at the bottom of the cloud while positive ions move to the top.
This electrical field is so intense that the negative electrons in the cloud repel electrons on the ground. These ground-level other electrons get pushed far enough into the strata that the surface of the planet becomes positively charged. Once that occurs, air molecules around the cloud ionize, discharging the electrical field via a short-circuit back to Earth, neutralizing the charge difference. That's lightning—and you don't want to be anywhere near it when it strikes.
Humans are good conductors. Being comprised of atoms that can transmit electrons is great for our neural network's basic functionality. But it's very bad when we drop a hairdryer in the tub, crack open an industrial capacitor, or become a human lightning rod on the links.
Lightning strikes do, however, differ from the industrial shocks you'd receive from high-voltage equipment. First, the level of voltage is greater in lightning—most industrial shocks generate 20-60kV, but a bolt of lightning generates 300kV. Second, the duration of a lightning strike is much shorter. Man-made shocks last about a half second (500 miliseconds), on average, until the worker is either blown clear or the circuit breaker trips. A lightning strike courses through you in in just 3 milliseconds. Finally, most industrial electrical injuries hit the worker's hands, arms, and shoulders while natural lightning most often strikes the head, shoulders, and upper torso.
When a bolt of lightning does strike a human frame, very bad things happen. In addition to the 300kV of energy coursing through you, the power of the strike heats the surrounding air to 50,000 degrees F, causing third degree burns at the bolt's entry and exit points. It can also create lightning bolt-shaped burn marks, called Lichtenberg figures, which are caused by bursting blood vessels. The heat and force can singe and shred clothing. Lightning strikes have blown people clear out of their shoes.
A bolt of lighting striking a person usually causes very serious injury, or death.
