Question

Why is a golfer with a metal club over her shoulder vulnerable to lightning in an open fairway? Would she be any safer under a tree?

Short answer

During lightning the metal golf club would be induced with charges opposite to that in the clouds and provide a low resistance path for electricity to the ground, hence the golfer would be vulnerable to the lightning strike. She would not be safe under a tree, since tall objects also facilitate the transfer of charge.

Step-by-step solution

Charing by friction

When an object is rubbed with another object, then one body loses charge and becomes positively charged while the other gain that charge and becomes negatively charged.

Carrying metal club makes golfer vulnerable to lightening

When thunderstorms occur, due to friction between the clouds, they become charged.

When a golfer holds a metal club over her shoulder and walks in the thunderstorm, due to induction the metal club get charged with the opposite charge present in the clouds.

This creates a strong electric field at the edges of the metal club and the electric field would cause the charge to leak from the edges towards the cloud. This will provide a least resistive path for the charges on the cloud to reach the ground.

Hence, a golfer with a metal club over her shoulder is vulnerable to lightning in an open fairway.

Under the tree

During the thunderstorms, the wet trees become conducting and the charges would be induced on the tree, and a strong electric field between the tree and the charged clouds would cause the electrical breakdown through air.

Therefore, the trees are often struck by the lightning. Hence, she would be unsafe even if she stood under the tree.