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218:; they may persist for hours or days, and are a useful indicator for medical examiners when trying to determine the cause of death. Although humans being struck by lightning is of course rare, it is nonetheless possible that over a wide period of time, certain cases of burn marks would exist which could be said to resemble objects nearby the point of the lightning strike. However, these cases are almost certainly the product of
184:, has since ancient times been the subject of mythology and folklore regarding its origins, effects, and various ways to ward it off. As mentioned previously, the 19th century were a breeding ground for myths about electricity and photography. Sympsychography, by which
172:, the time was right in the 19th century for keraunography, which seems to combine both concepts, to enter the public consciousness. However, it is likely that anecdotal accounts of keraunography had existed long before there was a word for it.
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are used to produce a photographic image, was a deliberate joke, but no less taken as truth by members of the public. Also possibly related to keraunography is the mistaken belief that the last image a dying person sees is burned into their
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Although to some degree science has still not fully explained all the behaviours of lightning, very few people currently accept keraunography as truth. It is evident that lightning strikes do indeed produce
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or ferning patterns) are signs of a lightning strike injury on the skin. They can appear on a number of other materials, including wood and grass.
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rather than evidence of any photographic property of lightning. No supposed case of keraunography has been investigated by modern
156:, it is impossible to trace the origins of keraunography. However, it seems to have attracted scientific and media attention in
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the term "keraunography" had been coined to describe numerous unconnected events. With increasing scientific understanding of
266:"Case Report: Unravelling the Mysterious Lichtenberg Figure Skin Response in a Patient with a High-Voltage Electrical Injury"
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Lightning, being a dramatic and often-seen (yet mysterious and poorly understood) aspect of
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Lindford, A.; Juteau, S.; Jaks, V.; Klaas, M.; Lagus, H.; Vuola, J.; Kankuri, E. (2021).
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to see shapes in them. The lightning often leaves skin marks in characteristic
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Schulze, C.; Peters, M.; Baumgärtner, W.; Wohlsein, P. (2016).
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Cooray, Vernon; Cooray, Gerald K.; Cooray, Charith (2015).
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Belief that lightning strikes leave photographic images
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of surrounding objects. It is generally considered a
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136:), can leave markings which constitute a
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238:Keraunographic markings (also known as
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327:: 119-123.
220:coincidence
186:brain waves
170:photography
166:electricity
421:Categories
251:References
230:folklore.
204:burn marks
152:Like most
134:human body
69:newspapers
432:Lightning
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329:Bibcode
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