Part A: A typical bolt of lightning carries billions of joules (1 GJ = 109 J) of energy, but discharges it over a very short period of time. If a particular lightning bolt discharges 8 GJ of energy in 30 microseconds (1 µs = 10-6 s), then how many watts (W) of power did it deliver? Express your answer in scientific notation. Part B: If a person is struck by the lightning bolt described in part [a] above, that person will likely absorb only a small fraction of the energy it carries. What is the largest percentage of that energy that person can absorb and still reasonably expect not to sustain serious injury? Explain your reasoning in a 20-40 word paragraph, and write the proper calculation below.
Part A: A typical bolt of lightning carries billions of joules (1 GJ = 109 J) of energy, but discharges it over a very short period of time. If a particular lightning bolt discharges 8 GJ of energy in 30 microseconds (1 µs = 10-6 s), then how many watts (W) of power did it deliver? Express your answer in scientific notation.
Part B: If a person is struck by the lightning bolt described in part [a] above, that person will likely absorb only a small fraction of the energy it carries. What is the largest percentage of that energy that person can absorb and still reasonably expect not to sustain serious injury? Explain your reasoning in a 20-40 word paragraph, and write the proper calculation below.
Given that
A typical bolt of lightning carries billions of Joules
Solution:
i) In order to calculate the power, consider the following expression for the same:
Substituting the given values in above equation, we get:
Therefore, the power delivered is of magnitude .
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