[Faline]

Being struck by lightning is a dangerous and scary experience and can even be fatal. Sometimes, the electrical discharge can leave a tattoo-like marking or scar known as a Lichtenberg figure. The patterns created are known to be examples of fractals.

Lichtenberg figures are branching electric discharges that sometimes appear on the surface or the interior of insulating materials. They are named after the German physicist Georg Christoph Lichtenberg, who originally discovered and studied them. When they were first discovered, it was thought that their characteristic shapes might help to reveal the nature of positive and negative electric “fluids”.

In 1777, Lichtenberg built a large electrophorus to generate high voltage static electricity through induction. After discharging a high voltage point to the surface of an insulator, he recorded the resulting radial patterns in fixed dust. By then pressing blank sheets of paper onto these patterns, Lichtenberg was able to transfer and record these images, thereby discovering the basic principle of modern Xerography.

This discovery was also the forerunner of modern day plasma physics. Although Lichtenberg only studied 2-dimensional (2D) figures, modern high voltage researchers study 2D and 3D figures (electrical trees) on, and within, insulating materials.

Read More:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lichtenberg_figure

[Faline]

I'm ware some of the images have been posted but wanted to make a thread explaining them properly

[Bastet]

These are as cool as scars can be Still wouldn't want to get struck by a lightning though.

[johnleeknoefler]

Originally Posted by Bastet ↗

These are as cool as scars can be Still wouldn't want to get struck by a lightning though.

I would so love to have one like the first photo. You can so clearly see it was an upstroke that used her body to take off from. The charge must of been tremendous. All that electricity in her body and she never knew until it discharged.

[Spiffyfable]

Ultra Cool

[Biomarker]

Are they permanent scars?
If not, I would get a tattoo of it before it fades. I don't have any tats, but THAT would be something I'd do.

[T2]

Known as a Lichtenberg figure, for the German physicist who first described seeing a similar pattern while experimenting with static electricity, these reddish fern-leaf patterns are a skin reaction to a lightning strike.

These dramatic keraunographic marks are sometimes referred to as "lightning flowers" or "lightning trees." They tend to occur on the arms, back, neck, chest, or shoulders of lightning strike victims.

The feathering marks are formed by the transmission of static electricity along the superficial blood vessels that nourish the skin," says Dr. Mathew Avram, director of the Dermatology Laser and Cosmetic Center at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston.

"They're the kind of marks that when an emergency medicine doctor sees it, you know exactly what the diagnosis is -- a lightning strike," he explains.

"These are an unbelievably rare thing to see," adds Avram.

What you tend to see is a superficial burn to the top part of the skin, he says. If the person was wearing a belt buckle or the skin was sweating a lot during the lightning strike, the fern-leaf patterns may be deeper.

[T2]

The last pic is after a few months of healing

[corpsehands]

Makes me want to get hit by lightning

[LadyCPlum]

It's strange how pretty some of the scar patterns actually are....natural tattooing!