For centuries raging element frightened man. Lightning spurting from the sky, bringing death and fire, seemed arrows of the gods. They were afraid, adjured, tried to curb.

When scientists invented the lightning rod, and tried him (cost the lives of several physicists), euphoria from seeming victory over the forces of Nature was so great that in honor of the winners was held lavish parties and Grand balls, but does was a complete victory?! Does. Over the past century, the number of victims of lightning is steadily growing. For example, in France, where annually about one million of lightning strikes that killed dozens of people and about 10 thousand cows. By the way, with such accuracy contact person (one killed "spent" about 10 thousand hits) lightning can be compared with bullets (which, for example, during the positional war is spent on one of the killed enemy from 1 to 100 thousand). As if all our Land is one big shooting or shooting through close to the front.

Perhaps without lightning conductor of the number of victims would have been even greater, but to protect us fully, they failed. More precisely, they perfectly protect us from "electrical breakdowns of clouds," that is, from what was considered the lightning after the discovery of electricity. "Lightning - discharge current capacity of up to 3 billion joules, moving down from the cloud with speed 160-1600 km/s (and 140000 km/s - half the speed of light sometimes moves back to earth in clouds) by ionized channel air temperature plasma up to 30 000 degrees (5 times higher than the Sun), with the diameter of the channel 1.27 cm, surrounded 3-6 m high crown, length from 90 m to 32 km and an audible shock wave (thunder), sometimes audible at a distance of 29 km" such statistical information has accumulated on lightning omniscient science.

Yes, zip submit to the majority of laws of distribution of electric discharges, but... not all and not always. Yes, lightning consists of electric charge, but... either we don't really know what electricity is, or zip includes not only electricity. Yes, forecasters in most cases, predicts the onset of stormy days, but... the behavior of lightning in many cases is not predictable and understanding.

One case more amazing than the other: zip burns linen, leaving the top dress. Or shave away from the hair to the last. Rescuing him from the hands of the person metal objects, knocking on the big distance and do not cause harm to keep them. Zip alloys in total ingot all the coins that were in the wallet, gold or silver, and she silver, not burning lying with them paper money. Zip completely destroys worn on the neck locket on a chain, leaving a memory robbed her girl imprint chain and locket, not descending from the skin for several years...

Here not a harmless pranks: lightning leaves on the body of the murdered reduced image of the tree under which he was killed... a Group of people sitting during a thunderstorm under the tree, after hitting him in the lightning remains as if petrified; they fit, they seem to be coming alive, but when they touch, crumble to dust... Lightning splits the man from head to foot like an axe... Lightning, killing, and sometimes does touching of a person, burns or breaks in pieces and scatters clothes...

"An act of nature" can permanently attached to a single "to the object of love". Often being in one place can explain the reasons for climate (the storm is a place on Earth - Tororo in Uganda, where in the year 251 stormy day), geological (in the Caucasus), abnormal (Medveditsky ridge in the Volga region).

But how to explain ttachment" to certain events or people? For example, the former Park Keeper American Roy Czariwna lightning in different places found 7 times: in 1942 he burned his big toe, in July 1969 - burned eyebrows, in July 1970 - burned his shoulder, in April 1972 - seared hair, in August 1973, he burned the feet, in June 1976 - injured ankle, in June 1977 - burned his chest and stomach. Such a twist of fate kills him anything, and six years later, in September 1983 Sullivan has committed suicide... the Probability of being struck by lightning is very small, and yet, someone lightning strikes "joking and make-believe" several times, someone "finishes" from the second to fifth times, and one of his victims do not leave, even after death, striking in their graves, divides in half gravestones and burn crosses...

Even more surprising thing happened with men Bulgarian women Martha Maike. In 1935, the American tourist Randolph Eastman during thunderstorms asked to wait out the elements in her house. A week later they were married, but after 2 months, the man was killed by lightning. Later Maike remarried, this time for the Frenchman by the name of Charles Morto. And while travelling through Spain's second husband was also struck by lightning on the spot. Widow returned to Sofia, where she began to treat depression German physician. They were married in Berlin and during the trip to the French border in the car doctor struck, as was to be expected, zip. The third man was killed on the spot. As far as is known, the fourth of March, no one was happy with his strange love...

About the selectivity of lightning strikes that are not just legends. Often stalled go even police criminologists: why, for example, in the same case, one and the same lightning kills one rider, without touching the horse, and the other rider throws aside, Ismailov underneath the horse... "act of nature" can kill in a crowd of representatives of different professions or, for example, only monks, or only men or only women can predict the objectives in advance impossible... And not always victims differ from other physically, for example, wearing metal objects. Sometimes zipper on one of her apparent reason from a group of people choose very happy or beautiful, and perhaps the most sinful - in strict accordance with ancient legends about the thunder rzadem... Hid entire brigade, fifteen, and under the tree, the lightning found only Brigadier... In Japan still can't explain the reason of the terrible tragedy - the teacher ordered school class in the campaign to take up the rope, and caught in the rope lightning killed exactly half of all teenagers, gently through one, hitting all even in the ranks of children and without touching odd...

What this looks like? The actions "blind elements" or pranks funny robbers? If this element, it is not that she is blind, and if it is reasonable steps, they are not too humane. Does that only powerful, confident force acting on a completely unknown to us laws. And acting, most likely, sensibly, that is reasonable.

In one of the most incredible and at the same time similar to the truth of the hypothesis, which States that our planet is the largest living creature, lightning has one of the most honorable role. Huge living and good body needs mighty nervous system, organs or channels of communication between distant parts. Faster and more effective ways of information transmission than with lightning lightning, the Earth is simply no (or they are unknown to us). Moreover, the storm raging on the planet daily (only in the Equatorial zone for 1 night up to 3200 lightning strikes), and have another sign of the living the beginning, they play the role of self-regulation. Burning forest and arranging forest fires, they reduce the oxygen content in the atmosphere, if it accumulates too much. If the contents of this life-giving gas is reduced (as now), wood lights up less willingly and number of fires in the green forest is on the wane, but hardly diminished in number of fires dry old forest lead to accelerated growth of young growth and the reduction of oxygen on the planet. This way, the percentage of oxygen and saved on Earth for millions of years. More precisely, remained until there are people, destroying atmospheric oxygen and the environment... what Is that? Lightning destroys deadwood and regulates the composition of oxygen, but the man destroys the green forests and to it violates the existing system of self-regulation - and then the lightning destroys...

So, aggressiveness lightning - if they are not "blind force"and "the hand of the Earth" - can be understood, many of the people deserve the worst. But to understand the mechanism of action of these "force" is still difficult, anyway, to describe them with the help of modern physics is possible only in the first approximation.

Sometimes, for example, for obscure reasons, while lightning stroke, as well as many other species of this experience, lead to the fact that the victim has dramatically changed views about the current time. Time either slows down or even stops completely. 6 June 1993 about 13.30 day during a severe thunderstorm, lightning struck Gregory N. from Zhirnovsk (Volgograd region). A week after the incident Gregory described his condition like this: has felt the impact "as a complete stop. Stop as if only"... the Other his fellow-sufferers (but also, fortunately, survived), mountaineer, which in the mountains hit by lightning, told me that he had seen molten charge ran on the hand, the skin's Smoking, meat and muscles began to slowly roast, then turned black, and then to keep up with bones..."

There are times when it seems that time in the injured person stops at all forever. For example, lightning, killing of a person, may not be left on the body no trace of his actions, and the corpse long time is not stiffens and does not decompose. Why? Time "as it stops" or really stop at least some of its manifestation? Nobody can't answer this question, for those who were buried imperishable victims of lightning came up with the idea to invite physicists with devices.

So what to call after just described our "the old familiar"? Revenge forgotten by all God of lightning of Zeus the Thunderer? Still unexplored physical paradox? Playful, and sometimes cruel electric motor? Power gates into the world of unreal? Or how else?.. We still have no response. If you are lucky (or if you're not lucky) and you will meet HER, then find the strength and opportunity - ask her, zipper, yourself! Perhaps, through the thunder you will hear the answer...