Struck by Lightning!

Six full-time national servicemen (NSF) were hurt when a bolt of lightning hit the hill they were training on in Marsiling last week. The men were participating in a training excercise under a shelter during the time. The NSFs, who were undergoing training to become officers, took shelter under a tree from rain at the time when the exercise was temporarily suspended, according to a Straits Times report.

This incident comes as no surprise as Singapore has one of the highest rates of lightning activity in the world. The hot and humid weather is ideal for the formation of lightning-producing storm clouds.

And now for a different kind of lightning... presented to you by Medicom Kubrick Star Wars figures

In "Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983)", the Emperor (Ian McDiarmid) uses Force lightning against Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) to torture and attempt to kill him when he realizes that he cannot turn him to the Dark Side.

The Emperor: "And now, young Skywalker... you will die."

Darth Vader (David Prowse/James Earl Jones) watches as the Emperor and Sith Lord tortures Luke. Deeply affected by the sight of his son dying before him, Vader repents

and turns on the Emperor, throwing him down a reactor shaft to his death.

At the same time, however, the Emperor's Force lightning causes fatal injuries to Vader (Anakin) and short-circuits his breathing system. Knowing that there is no hope for his own survival, Anakin asks Luke to take his mask off.

Darth Vader: Luke... help me take this mask off.
Luke: But you'll die.
Darth Vader: Nothing... can stop that now. Just for once... let me... look on you with my *own* eyes.
[Luke takes off Darth Vader's mask one piece at a time. Underneath, Luke sees the face of a pale, scarred, bald-headed, old man - his father, Anakin. Anakin sadly looks at Luke]

Anakin: Now... go, my son. Leave me.
Luke: No. You're coming with me. I'll not leave you here, I've got to save you.
Anakin: You already... have, Luke. You were right. You were right about me. Tell your sister... you were right.

According to lightning expert Liew Ah Choy of National University of Singapore’s (NUS) electrical and computer engineering department, when lightning hits the ground, its voltage spreads.

“When someone has two feet on the ground, the difference in voltages will push the current through the legs into the body and electrocute the person,” he said. A person standing up to 100m away from where the lightning current enters the ground may also be electrocuted.

Direct lightning hits are fatal. Nearly 200,000 amps of electricity, enough to power half a million 100W lightbulbs, will course through the person’s body. This can burst blood vessels, stop the heart and even leave burn marks.

While we obviously can’t stop lightning, we can take precautions to avoid being hit:
1) Don’t stay out in any open areas like fields, golf courses, or parking lots. And keep away from Sith Lords.
2) Stay away from all forms of metal and Sith Lords
3) Stop swimming and get out of the water. And Sith Lords
4) Don’t stand under tall objects like trees or towers. And Sith Lords