Quick question; i was talking to some friends about cars and the question of lightning strikes came up where no one could give me a proper answer.

My question is, is a car totally safe because of the Faraday cage principle? Are there any weak spots? What would happen if the lightning struck into the car antenna? Does anything change if there is alot of water because of the rain on the car eg. the electricity being able to 'run' around the wheels because of the water?

Someone also talked about reports that cars have burnt out because of lightning strikes.

My father told me that it was the air-gasoline mixture in my gas tank, but that would mean that cars are'nt that safe in a lightning storm.

Those are the things i can remember.... hopefully someone can give me a good explanation.

Not to sure but BBC programme Topgear did a thing a few years ago when they put hammond in a car and placed it under one of the rigs electrical companies use to test their power equipment.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ve6XGKZxYxA

Apparently yes. They've done tests by shocking different cars with tesla coils and they've all been just fine. The car's chassis and body just provide an ample conductor to channel the energy around you.

I always thought the Faraday cage principal only worked with electromagnetic waves, not an ionized stream of electrons.

Apparently yes. They've done tests by shocking different cars with tesla coils and they've all been just fine. The car's chassis and body just provide an ample conductor to channel the energy around you.

I always thought the Faraday cage principal only worked with electromagnetic waves, not an ionized stream of electrons.

Well they both produce electric fields, causing the electrons to move around in the faraday cage, either producing a field that cancels out the applied field or EM waves that cancel out the incoming waves.

I hate it when people say they "block" EM radiation. That confused me for quite a while when I was younger :P

You're safe. I read once about cars having power lines fall on them, and you are 100% safe when you are in your car. For you to be electrocuted, you would have to be getting in or out of the car; i.e. touching the metal exterior AND the ground at the same time.

Not a Faraday Cage. You can make cell calls out of your car, therefore its not the same principal.