Re: lightning dangers

[Rick Tarara <rbtarara@SPRYNET.COM>]

But the question remains..has anyone actually seen a verified report of
someone killed by lightning while inside?  I certainly haven't.  The note
from Dan suggests there are, but does anyone in the group have actual
knowledge of such instances?

Rick

-----Original Message-----
From: Daniel L. MacIsaac <Dan.MacIsaac@NAU.EDU>
To: PHYS-L@LISTS.NAU.EDU <PHYS-L@LISTS.NAU.EDU>
Date: Wednesday, April 28, 1999 7:35 PM
Subject: Re: lightning dangers


> Hugh and Carl:
>
> We had a lightning expert present at a recent Az-AAPT meeting.  The danger
> is real.  A lightning strike on a house will likely exit through plumbing
> or electrical connections, and the huge voltages are fairly localized
> to narrow paths.  If you have part of your body on and off one of these
> paths then you get a big voltage differential set up in you too.  His
> advice was stay away from appliances and plumbing durign lightning storms.
>
> We also discussed phone use during lightning storms.  Most people killed
> inside houses by lightning are using the phone when they get zapped.  We
> discussed the opportunity presented by obtaining a cordless phone and
> calling people you don't like during storms to see if you could win the
> lottery so to speak (cheap yet fun)!  Apparantly the danger is real enough
> he felt the phone company should be printing warnings in their directory.
>
> Finally, he showed a burn pattern on a grass golf green after a direct
> strike on the golf flag.  The pattern looked like a bifurcating fractal
> across the surface of the grass -- the strike stays pretty shallow.  One
> foot on and one foot off this pattern would be traumatic indeed.
>
> Dan M
>
> PS -- from the LPA minutes at
http://purcell.phy.nau.edu/AZAAPT/Spring99r.html:
> "
> Our final invited speaker was Phil Krider, from the UA Atmospheric Physics
> Department. His presentation, titled Lightning--A Striking Phenomenon,
> described what is currently known about lightning, how best to achieve
> protection against lightning strikes, and his current research in
> rocket-triggered lightning.
> "
>
> Dan MacIsaac, Assistant Professor of Physics and Astronomy, Northern AZ
Univ
> danmac@nau.edu          http://purcell.phy.nau.edu         PHYS-L list
owner
> He showed
> so>
> > > From time to time, someone will mention that it's dangerous to take a
> > > shower during a lightning storm. I'm assuming the idea is lightning
could
> > > strike a tree or the ground nearby just as I put my hand on the tap.
This
> > > doesn't seem like a terribly high risk to me, as I tend to think of
> > > plumbing pipes as generally being rather well grounded. But let's hear
what
> > > you think. Is this an urban myth? Has anyone heard of any actual cases
of
> > > electrocution this way? Carl
> > >
> > > Dr. Carl E. Mungan, Assistant Professor     http://www.uwf.edu/~cmungan/
> > > Dept. of Physics, University of West Florida, Pensacola, FL   32514-5751
> > > office: 850-474-2645 (secretary -2267, FAX -3323) email: cmungan@uwf.edu
> >
> > Interesting question. I have had some of the same doubts myself. I know
> > that at our community swimming pool, they close the pool anytime there
are
> > thunderstorm activites in the area, and my understanding is that a nearby
> > lightning strike can create large transient currents which could find
their
> > way into the water in the pool. But it seems a stretch to think that
these
> > transients could also make their way through the plumbing. Maybe they
can.
> > Hugh
****************************************************************************
****
> > Hugh Haskell
> >
> > <mailto://haskell@odie.ncssm.edu>
> > <mailto://hhaskell@mindspring.com>
> >
> > The box said "Requires Windows 95 or better." So I bought a Macintosh.
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****
> >