ARE THERE SAFETY ISSUES WE SHOULD BE AWARE OF IN LIGHTNING?

[NerdyCinderella]

I was just reading Nazareth's post where he mentioned lightning storms. I never thought of this.
Has this issue been discussed here before? If so please direct me. If not can I get some input from any of the super smart members here?

 

[trog100]

yes dont stand under a bloody great tree in the middle of a field during a thunder storm.. or worse still climb the bloody great tree and hold out your pen style e cig at arms length while up there.. he he he

trog

 

[Minus Sign]

Not sure what issues you may refer to.

You should always take proper precautions if you find yourself outside in a lightning storm, but these things aren't any more dangerous to carry around than a watch or a cellphone.

If you are referring to the USB devices, and sticking something in your mouth that is plugged into the grid while electrical surges are spiking all over creation, then yes there is a concern. Its a slight concern, seeing the low incidence of lightning strikes actually harming people and the fact that I--frankly--doubt the wires could survive a surge strong enough to arc an ohm of juice into you but...well, you don't take a bath in a lightning storm; why would you, in essence, want to suck on the grid?

Proper surge suppression systems and a grounding web is a good idea for home owners in general. For most homes, nothing more than a lightning rod and ground rod with copper wire connecting the two is necessary to harden a house against lightning strikes; add a UPS and surge suppressor to protect sensitive equipment and information.

OFC, if you don't wanna pay money for all that, just unplug when the storm is over your house. If you live in an apartment, I believe that most apartment buildings are large enough that code requires proper surge suppression equipment be installed for them.

Credentials to answer your question: over ten years as a technical assistant and adviser working for surge suppression subcontractors to the US Navy and private businesses in US, Saudi Arabia and Italy. I only work at a library now because my back and knees aren't up to climbing towers with a hundred pounds of equipment...and because I love it

 

[NerdyCinderella]

yes dont stand under a bloody great tree in the middle of a field during a thunder storm.. or worse still climb the bloody great tree and hold out your pen style e cig at arms length while up there.. he he he
trog

trog

Minus Sign,
Okay, specifics. I’ve never been concerned about lightning here in Gotham City especially sitting here in my apartment.

However, possible scenario:
I’ve just finished a diner at a nice restaurant. I go outside and find a storming rain with lightning. I’m looking for a cab or waiting for the storm to subside. Waiting under an awning, I’m nervous and want to smoke my ecig.

Any increased danger there?
Thanks.

 

[Minus Sign]

No. The danger is no more increased than if you were standing outside with a regular cig. There are much less resistant structures all around you, including the cab you're trying to hail if it has steel belted radials (keeping in mind that they're still wrapped in insulated rubber), than the human body. Lightning is like water in many respects; it seeks out and follows the path of least resistance. Thats why surge suppression grids are--when built correctly--made of low resistance wire creating a path straight from the highest structure to the ground.

Lightning will strike the restaurant before it hits you. And all those skyscrapers and 20+ story buildings are much more appetizing to it than the restaurant.

You've got a higher chance of winning the lottery twice in a row than you do of getting struck in the manner you describe.

Not to be sexist but I LOLed when I thought of this: I thought girls were scared of thunder, not lightning. They always grab my arm after the boom, not the flash

 

[UncleMidriff]

Regarding USB e-smoking during an electrical storm: I might go ahead and unplug the thing until the storm passes. About 7 or 8 years ago, I was using a corded phone during a storm. Lightning struck somewhere very near my house, and I got a nice shock to the face and the phone was knocked from my hand. My brother, who was using the computer at the time, got his hand shocked through the mouse.


It was nothing serious, but I wouldn't want to have been to be sucking on the device that shocked me either. Also, this house was an old house, so it probably didn't have all of the mitigating features described by Minus Sign

 

[NerdyCinderella]

Thanks guys for bringing some sanity to my question - lol

 

[trog100]

i once had lightning strike my house.. just getting into bed one night and there was a huge very loud bang.. not at all like thunder.. more like a gun being fired close to your ear..

i looked outside looking for a smoking hole in a neighbors roof.. saw nothing.. got into bed and went to sleep..

in the morning none of my neighbors or my TVs worked.. the lightning had struck my TV aerial.. on the side of my bedroom wall.. hence the loud bang.. it was no more than six feet away from me.. it was a powered aerial serving eight houses.. it looked undamaged..

the voltage had hit the aerial.. got as far as the amplifier box just below it then jumped to the earthed mains supply.. without the mains powered booster it would have blown the aerial off the wall.. it never earthed thru the TVs either they looked undamaged..

so where did the full forced go.. into the water mains.. it jumped across from the live terminal in my electric water heater (also in my bedroom) and down the copper water filled pipes..

the guy that came to replace the dead TV booster laffed when i said it had been struck by lightning.. but i knew it had.. the only sign of burning was in the the immersion heater top.. it looked well burnt.. he he

when lighting hits close there is no rumble just a very loud instantaneous bang..

if it hits u i dont suppose u would hear it.. he he

trog

ps.. the water heater is still working to this day.. complete with blackened charred track from the live terminal to the earthing terminal..

 

[katink]

Ouch Trog...
Sorry, forget the rest, was off-topic.

 

[TropicalBob]

I guess most folks know there are negative and positive charges in clouds and on the ground. All cloud-to-cloud and cloud-to-ground lighting arcs between opposing charges. As a storm moves over land, it changes the polarity of the ground beneath. Well, there are of complicating factors here, but I interviewed a man not long ago who had lightning travel up his left leg, through his pelvis and out his right leg. He was walking toward a fire he had in an open field as the storm closed in on him. The ground was literally switching polarity beneath his feet and when he made one last step, his right foot was one charge and his left another! This is extremely rare, and disputed. But it burned his underwear and he spent months in a hospital's burn unit (no, he did not fall into the fire; no, he was not drunk; no, he is not a nut case -- in fact, he's a county tax collector). He has massive scar tissue on the left leg where the electricity first entered. There's a bit more to how he came to be a human conductor (he'd just showered with negative ions, there was a negative-ion generating fire nearby, etc) but it's a rare thing for a human to be the victim of a ground-to-ground stroke.

I ended up doing a full page piece, including a story on the forest ranger who has been hit seven times -- and survived. He's been hit several times while in his truck, trying to outrun an approaching storm. He said he can SEE the bolt coming toward his head. He KNOWS it's coming for him. No, he doesn't have a metal plate in there. But he has two baseball caps with burn holes in them!

 

[NerdyCinderella]

yes dont stand under a bloody great tree in the middle of a field during a thunder storm.. or worse still climb the bloody great tree and hold out your pen style e cig at arms length while up there.. he he he
trog

I think trog is on vacation but I would want him to know we are having severe thunderstorms here in Gotham right now.
I thought I'd go up on the roof and try e-smoking to see what happens.

 

[TropicalBob]

Dear FrizzyCinderalla,

Trog is busy ruining Morocco's reputation. He would advise that you attach a fine wire from a kite to your e-cig. If the experiment works, you might discover a reliable power source for the thing.

TB

 

[jasondavis48108]

lol TB, I'm think about ordering a usb connection for mine and then plugging it into my universal lithium battery, I figure with that I should be able to power he e-cig for about two weeks.

 

[jamie]

He would advise that you attach a fine wire from a kite to your e-cig. If the experiment works, you might discover a reliable power source for the thing.

 

[NerdyCinderella]

That was fun - I'll send trog a link for when he comes back from vacation.

 

[MNZ]

Lightning strikes hit West Coast, front heads northwards - 02 Jul 2008 - NZ Herald: New Zealand National news

I ran around and I ran around some more with my 24ct gold plated e-cigarillo held proudly high in the air, hoping for the ulitimate e-smoking experience ... the lightning didn't even come close to me