Lightning? any reason for me to fear??

[PlanetCpp]

since this is a "what are the chances" type of question i figured this forum would suffice.

 

There is lightning outside so i just though of this..

you can skip the story if you want go down to the //////////'s

 

when i was 10 yrs old i was staying at a summer house my grandmother has that is in pennsylvania. the house is pretty high up on a mountain and is surrounded by trees. one day it was gloomy, not really raining much, just very cloudy and light drizzle here and there. so i was bored and i went out to play with my trucks (stop laughing at me i was 10) my grandmother was on the right side of the house and called for me to go to her, so i started walking and when i got to the side of the house me and my grandmother were 10 feet apart, i looked up (god knows why) at the trees and saw a blue flash heard a crackle sound (sounded like someone mashing dry leaves) then a HUGE explosion, the lightning hit the house 5 feet i front of me and 5 in back of my grandmother, it hit a nail and made a 90 degree turn (they said thats unheard of) hit another nail went 90 degrees down and hit a water pipe, huge water pipe, that was the explosion, it dug up a hole 20 feet across and a good 4 feet down and 2 feet wide, that all fell on my head

////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

 

needless to say im still hiding from lightning, i wont go outdoors and i even don't like being in my room on the second floor. it's so bad i made my friends stop at a motel on our way to new orleans on a road trip cause there was a lightning storm (and i wasnt even driving) , then again nyc doesnt get storms like there, that was crazy

what is the chance outside of getting struck, keeping in mind that i already almost got struck before. and am i in any danger in my room on the second floor of an area not really above sea level??

are there any realistic dangers or am i just bein a pansy ass????

[blike]

it's so bad i made my friends stop at a motel on our way to new orleans on a road trip cause there was a lightning storm (and i wasnt even driving)

 

The car is probably one of the safest places you can be in an electrical storm. I remember seeing video on TV where people were filming tornadoes from inside the car when lightning struck the car! They were unharmed.

 

I live in central florida, we have the worst lightning in the world. As long as your not out walking around in it you should be fine.

 

I don't know about lightning striking you inside your house. I'm sure its very unlikely. I've lived in this house (in fl) for 18 years, and lightning has hit all around my house: backyard trees, the power transformer infront of my house, and the front yard tree. Its never hit my house nor anyone else in my neighborhoods.

[fafalone]

The odds are appr. 1 in 500,000. Higher in FL. The record is held by Roy C. Sullivan, who was struck by lightning 8 times before his death (which was not caused by lightning)

[PlanetCpp]

wouldnt you know i've been thinking of moving to florida for a few years after college

i saw a show where this lady in ohio or iowa, somethin like that, was in her kitchen and a bolt came through a crack in the window and hit her foot, but ny doesnt get anything like that at least not here i guess i shouldnt worry if the odds are 1 in 500,000 and i came close before, if i ever do get hit...im buying a lottery ticket.

speaking of moving to florida, whats the salaries for soft developers there like? they look good on salary websites, i have a friend who moved there with no degree and is making good money in computers and i have been offered a job for good money (good for not having a degree yet, but im staying here to get it), i know florida pays less for most professions, but compared to ny salaries for developers florida is only 10-15 grand a year off (but ny salaries for developers are really good) if you take the difference but take in mind the much lower cost of living, it seems like a good idea to move there for a few years then come back up here. anyway, i have a choice of getting a small apartment for 1200 a month, buying a house (which is VERY small) here for 500,000 ,and im not kidding ;o(, or going there and getting myself a pool, garage, and all for less then half ;o)

[Adrian]

houses are equiped with ground rods. everything in your house is grounded, so you shouldnt have any reason to fear.

[kenel]

Not all houses have ground rods, and even if your house is grounded, your house can be stuck by lightning. The odds/chances are very very minute that you actually will be struck by lightning.

[Radical Edward]

provided you don't go onto a lake in the middle of a lightning storm, with a copper ring in your nose, while shouting 'All Gods are Bastards' you should be okay.

 

seriously though I wouldn't worry too much. that incident you mentioned sounds pretty freaky, and if the lightning hit your house, I'm sure it would find a better route to the earth than through you. though it might be a good idea to turn off any electrical appliances in the case of a storm directly overhead.

[aman]

If lightning missed you then you aren't a target. I say don't ever worry except natural precautions. Go enjoy the show of nature safely.

 

Just aman

[blike]

Do humans actually "attract" lightning?

 

 

If I were to stand outside in an electrical storm, are my chances of being hit greater than the trees next to me?

[JaKiri]

Originally posted by blike

Do humans actually "attract" lightning?

 

 

If I were to stand outside in an electrical storm, are my chances of being hit greater than the trees next to me?

 

No, as the trees provide the more suitable path to earth; remember it's not deterministic at all, merely defined by a few parameters (and chaos to some degree).

[aman]

I've seen two lightning bolts within 200 feet of me in my lifetime. With one I was standing flat against a boulder and another hit a tree. I don't think I repel lightning but there are cases of multiple strikes on people. The conditions of the strikes seemed unusual also. That's why I said if you don't get hit the first time you probably aren't a target. Sure wouldn't want to be a target.

Just aman

[blike]

Originally posted by aman

I've seen two lightning bolts within 200 feet of me in my lifetime.

 

Wow, ever been to central florida?

 

I've seen two within 200 feet in the past two weeks. Given one instance I was inside. The other I was running from my car to a building. The second I stepped out of my car, lightning struck a sign hardly 100 feet away. I heard the popping electricity sound I was so close. My hair stood on end and I kinda tingly, guess it was the electric field. Scared the crap out of me, and about doubled my running speed

[aman]

It sounds like your not a target. You must be short..:slaphead: :slaphead: OOP,s There goes an example of my bad social skills. I meant not tall.

Just aman

[blike]

Haha, I'm average; around 5'11. I guess I'm just not as conductive as towering metal signs

[kenel]

Originally posted by aman

I don't think I repel lightning but there are cases of multiple strikes on people. The conditions of the strikes seemed unusual also.

 

Could it be possible that some people have a higher...."something"....inside of them that makes them more prone to being struck by lightning?

[aman]

People still can't take a Kirlian photo of a persons head. Since the brain functions electricaly there should be an associated electromagnetic field around a head.

I think that might be where the tendency to be struck might be centered.

Just aman

[mooeypoo]

A few Km from my house there's a huge Satellite dishes "farm". HUGE Antennas, about 25 meters in diameter, maybe more.

 

The hilarious part is that every few antennas there's a Lightening "Defense" Antenna, thats supposed to attract the lightning.

 

It always makes me laugh. The antennas are HUGE conductors, but the lightning would preffer a tiny 10 meters pole over them because it's SUPPOSED to attract it.

 

Uh ha.

 

On the other hand, we barely have any lightning storms here, so that might be the reason why they use such idiotic way of defense

[Crash]

My mates house had a tree in his front yard hit by lighting when i was about 9, we were scared to touch the tree till i was bout 15 till we pushed our mate into it,lol kids will be kids

[Radical Edward]

well the lightning defence could work by virtue of the fact that the ends are pointed, whereas the satellite dishes are round.

[YT2095]

it MAY help to remeber that most lightening strikes on people do NOT end in a fatality either

 

I`ve been hit twice indirectly, and I`m still sucking air

besides, if your numbers up, yer gunna get it anyway! why waste valuable time in your life worrying about it?

[Sayonara]

Note to self:

 

YT immune to lightning. Shift funding from weather machine to orbital platforms.

[mooeypoo]

besides, if your numbers up, yer gunna get it anyway! why waste valuable time in your life worrying about it?

 

I think that's true to practically EVERYTHING in life, YT

 

By the way, Aren't lightnings attracted to conductive matters? What difference does it make if the dish is round and the lightning defense is pointed? If the dish has 100 times more charge to it - won't it attract the lightning anyways?

 

I've seen a show a while ago about lightnings, and there was this part where they showed a lightning-shaped-glass, that was made when a lightning hit sand on some beach.

It was almost 2 meters long - and when they checked why it was specifically to that location, they found that the glass (meaning the lightning itself) touched an electricity cable 2 meters down in the ground.

Other than the fact it's AMAZING (and really beautiful ) -- It just made me think that lightnings are attracted to electrical charge.

 

Dishes should have more than those defenses, but now that I think of it... I'm.. not really sure.

 

 

~moo

[FrankM]

The objects created by lightning in sand are called fulgerites. Fulgerites have also been found in clay soils, but they are not the long hollow type found in sand, more like irregular clumps of vitrified soil.

 

If you have a "point discharge object" it is a more likely candidate for an electrical discharge. If two tall objects are next to each other, the object that has the narrowest area at the top would tend to be the primary target, but it doesn't mean they can't both be zapped somewhere in the process.

 

Some controlled experiments have revealed interesting characteristics relative to lightning. The lightning safety web page, below, notes that when an overhead cloud carrying a charge passes over an area, it induces an opposite charge in the area beneath it. As the cloud moves, the area moves with it. It also suggests that the induced charge area has an excess of mobile charges, making the immediate area under the cloud more conductive.

 

http://www.lightningsafety.com/nlsi_lhm/Radials.pdf