Being struck by lightning is a dangerous and scary experience
and can even be fatal. Sometimes, the electrical discharge can
leave a tattoo-like marking or scar known as a Lichtenberg
figure. The patterns created are known to be examples of
fractals. Lichtenberg figures are branching electric discharges
that sometimes appear on the surface or the interior of
insulating materials. They are named after the German physicist
Georg Christoph Lichtenberg, who originally discovered and
studied them. When they were first discovered, it was thought
that their characteristic shapes might help to reveal the nature
of positive and negative electric “fluids”.