Richard Hammond struck by lightning in car - Top Gear - BBC

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The Top Gear team wonder what it would be like if you were struck by lightning while in your car. Richard Hammond travels to Germany to find out.
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[@likedcommentsRdeleted]

that's why its called a "Voltswagen"

[@xIkkito]

xD

[@1989Chrisc]

TheEdTeach Except its not

[@joshuawilliams994]

Watt?

[@gabrielamartinez3678]

I lightninged that

[@caronteric]

clever

[@stingscreen3147]

German Engineers trying to kill a British soldier 1942 colorized

[@bradley9856]

lmao

[@dragon_warrior_]

Lmaooo

[@paulus_1233]

I guess even Germans can laugh about this 👌

[@stingscreen3147]

@@paulus_1233 as an Austrian i can only confirm that

[@cherryd7498]

@@paulus_1233 Hell Yea

[@zdrux]

six handred sousend volt

[@zhaviator]

"zix huntred zauzent wolt"

[@LCdrDerrick]

Isn't that a beautyfully performed TH! Now neighbours try to say Heckler&Koch and not Heckler&Cock or Heckler&Coach or try to pronounce Messerschmitt. ;) But we've got people over here who are better than the bloke on the actuator. kzbin.info/www/bejne/kKrKfGavq7qYm5Y (jump to 0:48 there)

[@nicorosbergf1fan783]

zdrux Yeah for me as a German the typical German accent is really embarrassing. The th is our natural enemy :)

[@devinpetersen2387]

zdrux tousand

[@xcxjcxfjff5656]

Zigz handred zauzzendh zolt

[@Hyfoxdro]

Charges the battery faster than the car's alternator.

[@ml106]

Does neither

[@2mjz84]

M4T Oh shit I came with an Idea! Can we charge a tesla in a matter of seconds with that thing??

[@ml106]

@@2mjz84 no, because, as it was said in the video, high voltage electrical current moves "fast" and moves around the edges of the body, meaning the chassis of a car is the edge by which will the electrical current go, avoiding the inner matter of the car, including the people inside the car and the car battery. Thats why it was said that a car acts like a shield. Tesla olso used to do experiments like that, by putting people inside the cage trough which the electrical current of high voltage will pass while avoiding the person inside it, thus not harming it. So anyway, high voltage means high difference between electrical potentials of transmitter the and the recipient, so it would charge fast, but that doesnt necessarly mean that the electrical current has also a high power (meaning high value of energy transfered in a time unit), and even if it had, people would have to find a way to expose the car's battery to the stream, since the battery is in side the car, while the lighting passes around it. Anyay it would be too complicated and inefficient. There is another solution fot electrical cars, and it was presented by honda eith model clarity. May did a segment on one of the episodes.

[@tyrannatom9802]

Lol

[@memememegaming]

when the 5cyl can't produce power

[@SamuelHarrison]

How to fully charge an electric car in a second

[@smam741]

And some

[@h5skb4ru41]

Or fry it's batteries.

[@smam741]

@Rakan Adhadh wtf, the original comment is 3 days old

[@huntingclarkson7096]

Wonder if it messed up the paint in the roof

[@lucabaldassi6024]

To charge it quickly you have to put it in the microwave

[@weatherforecast4072]

Which pixel was Hammond?

[@paulfitz4861]

KZbin didn't support HD in 2007

[@drxshock6957]

I don't know.

[@addexiofan6961]

WeatherForecast that one

[@kiryu1381]

The small one.

[@powerhail9117]

The one that makes squeaky noises.

[@3dgar7eandro]

That mustache 〰️ guy looks like he knows what he's doing... 😂😂😂

[@MB-jy7nz]

Looks and sounds like a feller who rhymes with madolf mitler

[@Arc_Luena]

Retired porn director.

[@chobbs3384]

@@Arc_Luena or retired Yorkshire Ripper

[@omardorgham]

reminded me of the guy from chernobyl

[@NikosGardanis]

@@omardorgham Akimov

[@considerthewildflowers5533]

Seriously, how many times are they going to try to kill Richard? Off the top of my head I can think of this, the underwater car challenge, him driving a Land Rover up the side of a dam, the conflict at an American gas station, Yungas Road, Nardò Ring, and (obviously) The Vampire. That guy has more lives than a cat! :P

[@ystermannexe]

Sarah D why can't they try kill Jeremy instead? It's his turn now!

[@ystermannexe]

John Wilcox yep poor him..

[@BlazinBlz]

when they shoved him on top of a mountain that had bears and wolves on it

[@BlazinBlz]

oh, and when they went to Argentina, even though that was literally the whole crew, still

[@chaddanylak8706]

now the gran tour trying to kill him

[@MegaJoojee]

hit it with 1,21 gigawatts and see if it goes to the future?

[@JRDISTURBED]

Pretty sure you need a flux capacitor too

[@mitch832]

And he should be driving and hit 88mph. It doesn't work standstill.

[@IllusivePrime]

Time circuits and a working flux capacitor is needed for it to work.

[@yoshilandcat]

@@mitch832 well in back to the future 2 how did doc emmet brown go back to 1885 when he wasn't moving

[@HPayne62]

@@rolandlee6898 No, it's gigawatts. Jiggawatts is the messed up pronunciation of gigawatts.

[@stroock6394]

he's starting to raise the woltage

[@MrRyans35]

240p... We meet again... -.-

[@hummerguy]

LMFAO

[@jesusacristo307]

LMAFO ROFLCOPTER LOLOLOLOLO $@) AND 420 ALL DAY

[@ArtyI]

Me watching videos on a bus

[@adityajonathanmamahit2889]

Meanwhile me watching this video on s8+ with 240p on 2018

[@lilmelon5400]

Ryan Suddeth You say goodbye and i say hello

[@lucyhartwell2134]

He's increasing the woltage... LOL

[@klausdieter9625]

hes just a german, who's not used to speak english ^^

[@bigman1298]

Klaus Dieter yea we know

[@Wetbread88]

What people don't realize is, this was the moment that changed hammond forever causing him to very slowly become more accident prone when with vehicles

[@Jackarooooo]

"Yep, it's those zany Germans!" Germany: We've done worse.

[@accountdeleted8508]

are you in america or south korea? LOL

[@FoxAnimations3]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/eH24nJqIdt6SjNE

[@diggleda2952]

That was really cool of the Germans to allow that. The accent really added to the drama lol

[@samuelmorgan6003]

The stereo is on the Fritz

[@xIkkito]

its a local radio station :)

[@picklecrash]

British soldiers employed a variety of epithets for the Germans. Fritz, a German pet form of Friedrich, was popular in both World War I and World War II

[@mmmmmm.6199]

Jeremy: With great sorrow Richard Hammond is dead. Audience: (Laughter) James: Does that mean he is not coming on then?

[@Thomas-ng5rf]

Clarkson: Anyway....

[@oldfridge5059]

Richard from the grave: *Well, my eyes have popped out and there aren’t any teeth left to match to my dental records, so no James.*

[@FoxAnimations3]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/eH24nJqIdt6SjNE

[@sirpizo555]

No James I was struck with 600,000 volts my body has exploded into mush

[@AE-dh6zj]

Oh no! Anyway.

[@rosecaroline9204]

this was his audition tape for doctor who. 😂

[@ifeelcoke4347]

Rose Caroline he would make a good, funny and small doctor in all honesty

[@thelegendss9919]

124th like !

[@DR9271]

a British man fortifies in a terribly feeble structure while Germans rain menace and death from above,...reminds me of other similar occurrences, oh well....

[@appelpower1]

Not funny. Sorry.

[@colonelsanders1349]

Lol

[@Kyle-vb3fz]

It was a little funny

[@gabrielamartinez3678]

WW][

[@Guy.B]

Quite the blitzing flashback.

[@spacegaming7015]

This is the most extreme car advertisement I've ever seen

[@bigsmoke9935]

Hanz, increaze ze voltage!

[@MacTechG4]

Nein! Ist der WOLTAGE! ;) Yes, I know it’s pidgin Deutsch ...

[@westcheap]

In a parallel universe: Jeremey Clarkson: So Richard Hammond is dead... Audience: [applause] James May: Contact BBC if you are looking to be the next cohost of Top Gear.

[@MerkhVision]

Hahaha that sounds exactly like how they’d handle it

[@edragyz8596]

The next g-host of Top Gear

[@MotoMattMania]

the radio's on the Fritz XD

[@fatmat1701]

+MotoMatt i drove a 2.5 rabbit just like that exept it was blue and its radio never worked right XD

[@danishghostrider]

+ShinoSkylineGTS Volkswagen Golf 2.5 // Rabbit 2.5 (EU // USA/Canada)

[@danielb6927]

😂

[@CyrusOfNaias]

I wonder if Richard signed a waiver before doing this.

[@ionicbust4506]

Probably not

[@diedatplainsight8947]

5:04 were you killed to death? Me : What kind of question is that?

[@FerroequinologistofColorado]

Jeramy clarkson is just crazy

[@ladislavmalak444]

Me: Dry English humor, perhaps.... ;)

[@ahmed-al-raiyan5238]

Sammy Mackletraveranderson lol stupid Jeremy

[@MerkhVision]

A funny one

[@HiHi-ek1dd]

Imagine if Hammond was in pain and the guy just hit him with electricity like 10 times

[@tombowman5281]

Remember watching this in 2007 and thinking that the video quality was just normal

[@sweeperboy]

So you're telling me all Luke Skywalker needed to do was to go at Palpatine in a car and run him over despite the lightning? lol. Yeah, yeah, I know it's not real. Jeez.

[@sharkracingfanpage8364]

But even if it was real that would be bad for Palatine and also that was a good funny joke when I thought about it

[@madyzsgocka]

I was in my car, on my way to school, which was struck by lightning cruising on the interstate at 65 mph in a rain/snow storm many years ago. There was a huge white flash on the windshield, a crackle of electricity, and the hair on my arms stood straight up. The following quiet feel and sound of electricty that seemed to remain in the car for several minutes was creepy, to say the least. Didn't damage me or the car whatsoever, but it was weird, very very weird.

[@lucienmilner2733]

I wish Chris Evans is still a presenter. I really want to see Chris Evans do this, but this time he is on top of the car.

[@ozomini3400]

Lucien Milner there is a 0.01% chance of survival, some people actually were lucky enough to survive, but my bets are that he wont

[@SPBaviation]

Lucien Milner ok that’s a bit much

[@adoyaben]

@@ozomini3400 that's the point

[@drownedgod]

Yes I want captain America to present top gear

[@rashidhumine]

Captain America hasn't got time to present, his using his time to Protect Earth.

[@lachlanbraemar7813]

I've never heard someone say "I'm being hit by lightning" so casually. 🤣

[@DeanCraddock]

Richard Hammond struck by lightning in a car? No Richard Hammond in a car struck by lightning

[@ppsarrakis]

journalism in a nutshell.

[@SmileyLegoGuy]

Hammond you have some bawls

[@matthewsheppard7050]

I live in that "thunderstorm valley" in Oklahoma. Truthfully, I live about five miles from where the highest wind speeds on earth have been clocked. Do you know what I think? I think lightning is the least of my worries when I am dealing with Tornado Alley. Haha.

[@flagmichael]

My second correction: as others have mentioned, EHV discharges are very different from lightning. Lightning is capacitive discharge, with three distinct phases and often repeating. The first 50 microseconds or so are the initial pulse, averaging 28,000A with a record of a bit over 210,000 A. The second is a surge of tens of milliseconds duration, typically in the 2000A range. The third phase is a prolonged current flow of a few hundred A (400 seems to be typical) for most of a second. The first impulse is what whacks the electronics that I must then fix, while the final burn is responsible for most lightning caused fires. The test was in Germany so the substation must have operated at 50 Hz. Since the arcs started anew 100 times per second (positive and negative parts of the cycle) the pulses would be something like 5 msec in duration. The current would have to be limited by inductance but we were never cued in what the current was. 400A, like the final phase of lightning, sounds like more than I would expect.

[@forever_momentss]

flagmichael so whats your final conclusion? will i be alive if i was in a car hit by lightning?

[@notparanoid912]

Yes you would but the car would be probably hot the tires flat and the paint at the roof is blown away or burned and a pain in your ear like in a army film after a grenade

[@inox1ck]

not paranoid when the power that gets through the metal is very high, it can cause it to heat up. Also, part of the discharge could happen at the surface outside the metal I think. That can cause even holes in the metal at least in aluminum. But I guess most lightning strikes on cars are branches that have lower power.

[@Nemo7The7Pirate7]

Should have put a big mirror in front of the car.

[@guanqiaowang7586]

5:08 "thunderstorm valley" is actually Oklahoma City testing the effect of having supersonic jets flying by everyday. No actual thunderstorms, but they did sound like thunders.

[@thepeople9184]

Why Is KZbin Recommending A 13 year old Video Of Top Gear

[@dashingkiller12_73]

It knows what's good

[@PhilipRicketts]

Who knows but I am glad I clicked.

[@axylthomason4784]

This is one of those old new Top Gear episodes that never gets repeated on TV. I saw it once as a 10 year old and then it gets recommended by KZbin 15 years later.

[@jacsbyjohannsanto]

Hammond: oh shoot the battery’s dead **gets scientists to zap his car** Hammond: now my car is charged

[@xEnder686x]

haha... "it still works! amazing!" hits the gas, car explodes

[@Cjarreola93]

"It still works!" *drives off* 5min later you hear an explosion. lol

[@gamersrus2841]

Haha

[@emmettturner9452]

My house took a direct hit right outside the garage yesterday. Obliterated two utility boxes there and somehow damaged the car parked a few yards away. Everything bings and lights like normal except the light behind PNDRL... and it won’t start. This was one loud BANG so the EMP was obviously a lot stronger. SEIMENS clearly needs to upgrade their equipment if they hope to simulate natural lightning.

[@FinMoore]

3:40 made me jump!

[@Swiss89]

I love how the german guy says the voltage levels ^^

[@KillerHelix]

2:46 He's starting to raise the woltage... Adorable, that Hamster....

[@chubbyduck3y222]

13 years later and this is on my recommended

[@danielelise7348]

The guy in the control room was probably making an evil laugh ooowah ut ut ut ahhh! loving every minute of it! !😂😂😂😱😱⚡⚡⚡⚡

[@minuteman3]

British humor + German engineering + good solid fun! Brilliant!

[@jazzzyy13]

this vid is awesome! richard hammond did really well to get back on top gear after the jet car crash, and hes the greatest presenter part from jezza and may. hope to see loads more from this guy.

[@flagmichael]

My first correction: the car, with its large windows is not a Faraday cage. A Faraday cage is a barrier for radio signals - the one we had at work when I was in the radio shop was copper plated plywood, a cube about 6 feet each way with a mesh gasketed door.

[@Bsaint]

Main song is Michael Andrews - Manipulated Living if anyone is wondering

[@_Belteshazzar_]

I wonder how much it cost to use that amount of electricity that quick.

[@Jaessae]

They have one of these indoors at the German museum in munich (i think that is where it was) , and do displays on a regzlar basis - really popular with the kids. There's a cage a person can get in, and it is literally a cage - see through metal mesh. Anyway, it being indoors likely means they don't do the full power of a lightning strike at that installation, but it is still a lot. And the museum has a budget, so costs must be manageable.

[@carolineg3923]

Literally just made me think of my childhood and remember when my mom said it’s fine the lightning won’t strike us the tires are lightning prof. We will be fine. I am never trusting anyone.

[@zoggere4226]

Your mom was right just for the wrong reason, lighting will never strike you in a car.

[@anthonydanko621]

Quality has left the chat...

[@letsfailfet5wrt4sef]

This was one of the most tense moments in top gear

[@ashketchup007]

RICHARD LIONHEART.

[@densmaish5586]

What if it was a Tesla, explosion or infinite charge?

[@godzillae0579]

🤔

[@chrimuh_hy]

Probably infinity charge because we are electric.

[@h5skb4ru41]

@@chrimuh_hy you would get fried, don't get overconfident

[@chrimuh_hy]

@bigkahunaburger I'm just joking around. It's not really a thing. So don't just say, "tHaT's NoT hOw iT wOrKs."

[@DriftChasin]

It’s nice to know that this was in my recommendations

[@agauerm]

He was never really in danger. It´s not the voltage that kills you, but the amps.

[@impercua]

That was about November last year, he was doing 300mph in a jet-engined dragster try to break a world record, and they showed the crash and talked about it the last series of Top Gear.

[@direncloe1416]

Holy shit this comment is old

[@Ksa-jy7eb]

@@direncloe1416 crazy bro

[@matthew1202nv]

How can you not like them? Top Gear is the best TV program in England (and ever)! It's funny and very exciting. I LOVE TOP GEAR!

[@Ranjana0]

I have got this in my recommendation after 13 years🤣🤣

[@tommobox2401]

That’s hilarious

[@diobrando6245]

Hammond: think it's over Some guy in mustache: *HAVE A LITTLE MORE!!*

[@bobbender1216]

Thank God you didn't have a sun roof and it wasn't open

[@DeeW02]

Great! now try it with the engine on...

[@maxpoweroverdrive]

So Hammond is teaching me physics more practically than my physics teach ever could during the practical sessions!

[@eliasstenlund5227]

My dad showed me this video about 7 years ago and now I watched it and remembered when me and my dad watched it 7 years ago

[@unidentified2918]

Dem crazy germans XD Its kinda creepy to hear the grinding sound hit the car from the 60 or so thousand volts!

[@techtonictech196]

600000

[@piyushagarwal5830]

Who still watching in 2018

[@ystermannexe]

Good BOY yep

[@HD.Beamer]

2019

[@cherri_chip7257]

2019

[@pia7975]

2K19

[@Kitara86]

It’s hurricane season in Texas and I just heard this outside as the lights flickered on and off

[@davidgorelle8967]

"Killed to death" LOL! That is so redundant but hilarious

[@lorenzoladia5886]

Thats the sound you would here on a back to the future movie

[@MacTechG4]

While an impressive looking experiment, keep some things in mind; 1; 800K volts isn’t even close to a typical lightning strike, natural lightning is far stronger (it was probably capped at 800K for safety) 2; the car is a MkV VW Golf TDI Diesel, diesels have no ignition system and burn fuel by compression ignition, there’s no sensitive high voltage ignition system to fail, but there *is* a sensitive ECU computer that can get confused, VW tends to use a little more robust electrical components though 3; due to diesel’s compression ignition design, diesels are *FAR* more resistant to electrical damage/disruption, old mechanical diesels like the Mercedes 300’s and old diesel farm equipment are completely EMP proof, I have a 30 year old Kubota G5200 diesel garden tractor with a mechanical 3 cylinder Diesel engine that would absolutely survive an EMP or Carrington-level Coronal Mass Ejection (solar flare), still runs perfectly Diesel is the choice for survivability, the Kubota could easily run on 100% biodiesel or filtered waste vegetable oil.

[@scipug3048]

to be honest that distance was far more then the breakdown distance for 800kV. for 1,5 to 3kV per millimeter the arc could at max be 53 centimeters at 800kV. but that looked a lot further away then just half a meter. still nowhere close to actual lightning in terms of voltage but also in terms of current and W.

[@ldd5]

This man is invincible

[@Wolfiewyd]

This is deffo on your recommended😂😂

[@tomchen1643]

The semen's high voltage lab?? Hahaha

[@joseluis8291]

I think it was Siemens, because it is in Germany lol

[@MrWolfSnack]

Siemens but the I is pronounced as a long e

[@whatifyoucouldntchangename7091]

it is siemens

[@Fujiwara.Takumi1]

How to charge electric cars in seconds

[@GeweerBeer]

Why does this scientist sound like the "Hanz, get ze flammenwerfer" jokes?

[@tanrio11]

2:47 "He's starting to raise the woltage" lol

[@TheSchmittable]

@trento728 the company is called "Siemens" ;-)

[@JoshCreepa]

I hope Hammond got a massive payday for this.

[@baronsionis6855]

Palpatine's force lightning in rise of skywalker: 3:55

[@akila527]

Hammond is just secretly powering up

[@karma_moon188]

What time was he in when it finished? Marty McFly was zapped into the future but Hammo wasn't was he? Oh well. He is alive and well.

[@karma_moon188]

***** Yes i hope he would! Such a good looking man! I like your profile pic as well. MLP!

[@JohnSmith_1920]

Richard Hamster Hammond of course he wasn't, he wasn't even moving, and he didn't have a Flux Capacitor to charge up with the lightning

[@kristian43]

of-course it would start Richard its a 1.9 tdi but top gear never tested one to sea how great this engine really is

[@Daminark]

Wow, BBC is even better than I thought at special effects.

[@socialistdemocrat7207]

i really like the way he is saying "sausends" :-D

[@produKtNZ]

Awful quality

[@aliultimate009]

The test was 600.000 volts ... i heard lightning is about 50.000.000 volts which is higher X8 times than the one used in the video X)

[@shannondelaney3298]

+aliultimate009 i pritty mutch would say so yess but the video one has the same efect witch is the bright hevbery glow

[@CinemaUnited]

+Shannon Delaney Lightning can kill your electronics. My dad had a strike on his car and his parking sensors were broken and he needed to restart his car. It stopped driving on the highway in france. Some other cars on the road didn't even start after the strike.

[@shannondelaney3298]

CinemaUnited i know because broadmoor has there inportants siren G got hit by lightning sounded all clear tone then they cut it off from system selectivity

[@spartonioxD]

600 volts is more than 50 volts?

[@ManuLeach]

Spartonio yes, but 600 thousand is not more than 50 million

[@emptyeauation1627]

12 years ago? DAMN

[@ssidhuu]

Init😂🤣😭😂

[@morgan5324]

5:02 Jeremy said "were you killed to death then" 😂😂😂😂

[@robtennant98]

Why would you do that to yourself! HAMMOND

[@setesh1294]

that's Hammond for you though.

[@lisakaz35]

How'd his family cope with that?

[@lucamaini4492]

God ad for vw

[@usernameuser5573]

No? This would work on any car.

[@chapogbp]

Thanks for recommending after 13 years.

[@jeromeriedl]

“Like all cars, the new Golf acts as a faraday cage.” Nice subtle advertising

[@connectingwings7212]

I'm German and I seriously didn't expect it to be our country being so liberal (letting you do this)...

[@shakmooblivion9962]

BBC uses a potato to record. Nice.

[@jotuwe6091]

Potato would be 144p. This is cabbage quality ;)

[@shakmooblivion9962]

Oh i see what the BBC did there. Its ok, all to do with Budget

[@deankomadina253]

I remember watching this when I was a kid 😫

[@steeeven1]

WOW did you see hammond's eyes when that first little happened at 3:40 the pupils go gigantic from adrenaline, i wouldn't wanna be in that car anymore than i think he does LOL