Question

Exploding shoes. The rain-soaked shoes of a person may explode if ground current from nearby lightning vaporizes the water. The sudden conversion of water to water vapor causes a dramatic expansion that can rip apart shoes. Water has density 1000 kg/m³ and requires 2256 kJ/kg to be vaporized. If horizontal current lasts 2.03 ms and encounters water with resistivity 180 Ω·m, length 14.1 cm, and vertical cross-sectional area 16.3 × 10^-5 m², what average current is required to vaporize the water?

Answer 1