'15,000 Volts' VIDEO: Melanie Hoff's Time-Lapse Shows How 'Lightning' Makes Pretty Patterns In Plywood

Ever wondered what really happens when lightning strikes an object? A stunning new video affords an up-close look at a phenomenon one ordinarily doesn't want to get too close to.

Called "15,000 Volts," the video was uploaded to Vimeo on March 1 by Melanie Hoff, a 23-year-old sculpture major at New York City's Pratt Institute. It shows 15,000 volts of electricity carving gorgeous branching patterns into a sheet of plywood. The electricity is directed into the wood via alligator clips.

Hoff said her video was created as part of her senior thesis project, adding that the clip was shot over the course of about 10 hours in a Brooklyn, N.Y. metal shop. After shooting the video, Hoff said, she spent several hours editing the footage -- and speeding up the action by a factor of about 500,000, on average.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/05/15000-volts-video-melanie-hoff-time-lapse-lighting-plywood_n_2807805.html?ncid=edlinkusaolp00000003