Local man struck by lightning

[Soundguy]

It's all about potential differences.. same deal with static electricity...

Wonder what a lawnmower blade is picking up in the way of static charge?

Soundguy

 

[riptides]

Excellent note.

One addition: Lighting is an act of god.

A week ago a lighting storm came up on the house. Now all the women are running around inside because, well they are scared. A few claps are close by, and the wife is recommending I check things out.

Well, in my non-chalaunt attitude, everything LOOKED ok.

A minute later I hear sirens and the door bell. Yep, someone has informed me that the woods are on fire next to the house.

And it is not me clearing land, but that area could use cleanup!

Well, did I catch crap or what? The lightning strike seems to have found the only dead pine in a 20 acre plot. Now that pine was like a roman candle. After it was put out, thanks to my neighboring counties VFD!!, I looked over the area. No other trees, 100+ year old oaks look to have been touched.

Oh, the pine, was down on the ground, taken out by another oak during last years hurricane.

Ahh, well. Nature and God.

-Mike Z. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[DiskDoctr]

Mike,

Sounds like 4th of July came early at your place /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

Glad to hear all is safe and well after your close call!

We've had trees hit, some pretty close, but not nearly as spectacular as your pine.

Again, glad everyone/everything is okay. You realize, of course, that you will now have to walk around in the rain and take a drive after every loud sound, since the Misses was actually right! /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif (That happens some times, and boy do we pay for it..over...and over...and over...and . . .) /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

-JC

 

[Soundguy]

The media company I work for just opened up a new venue this weekend, ( friday ). I worked and trained there sunday.. and we got there about oh.. 2pm.. all was fine.. no clouds. Parking lot has palm trees in it for the 'island' look of the venue. At 7pm band tore down and I left.. Clouds were rolling in.. but not 'black'. We had heard a thunderclap or two.. but nothing out of the ordinary. On the way to the parking lot, we noticed one of the palm trees had its side blown out, and pieces of it were laying 20 feet away.. and it was burned to a crisp on that side... there was also an impressive hole in the dirt area where it was planted.

I figure I would ahve heard that close of a hit.. but didn't... and no rain yet either.. just a flash here and there...

Makes me glad we shut down and got out of there... too many wires to roll and electronics in that place to be tempting mother nature... etc...

Soundguy

 

[TBAR]

It is my understanding that if your are caught in the open during a lightning storm and cannot get to cover that you should place both feet close together and crouch down.(Away from your tractor) The idea being that if lightning strikes the ground near you the farther the current travels through the ground the less amperage it carries. So for the sake of an example if the amp drop is 30 amps per foot of ground traveled your feet, during the act of walking, will be a conductor for the amperage to travel through(one foot in a higher amperage area than the other). In this example your body would conduct XXX amps depending on your stride and how far away from the strike you are. Much like touching a hot wire at your house. Current travels from a high amperage(15amp) in the wire to a low amperage area(your feet on the ground 0amps).

I don't know if I explained that very well but that is the jest of it.


TBAR

 

[DiskDoctr]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( It is my understanding that if your are caught in the open during a lightning storm and cannot get to cover that you should place both feet close together and crouch down...)</font>

TBAR,

Good advice. I know I certainly wouldn't want lightning taking the shortest route between my right foot and my left foot (up one leg, across, down the other- you get the idea) /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif

Sorry, couldn't resist... /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

-JC

 

[Soundguy]

Well.. kinda right. Merely touching a high voltage source doesn't cause damage.. unless you are a part of the path of conductance.. For instance.. if you were floating in mid air.. and touching the line of an electric fence.. you would not fell a shock... now if you touched a ground reference while touching that fence.. you then become a path for electrons to flow..

Lightning gets a bit trickier as there is quite a bit of arcing at 'ground zero' you can be a path whether you are standing or not...

Air planes get hit by lightning frequently...

Soundguy