H
Harri Haataja
Guest
Bill wrote:
> Scott L wrote:
>> Bill wrote:
>>>
>>> My number was off the top of my head as I remembered it from
>>> oh,...grade school, so ooooops, sorry. There were a lot less people
>>> back in the 50's and they usually knew enough to get in out of the
>>> storm. You can get trapped in a bad spot though, as I found out when
>>> a storm hit when I was in the middle of a lake and had to get flat
>>> inside an aluminum boat. I can't argue with 200 per year given that
>>> we have almost 300 million walking around. I don't think the records
>>> were that great when I was in school????? Bill Baka
>>
>> Lying flat in the boat is more dangerous than crouching in
>> the bottom, preferably on one foot. The problem with
>> lying flat is that there can be quite a charge differential
>> between your head and feet, and that can generate a current
>> that will interfere with the electricity of your heartbeat.
>>
>> Lightning is one of *the* meteorological killers. I believe
>> it's exceeded only by heatwaves.
>
> Getting down inside the boat seemed like the thing to do in a sudden
> thunderstorm, especially in Minnesota or Wisconsin where they ambush
> you by rolling in over the trees. It was an aluminum boat so it should
> have been a good conductor. I wonder what the statistics say about
> being caught like that since those two states live on the tourist
> fishing vacations of people from Chicago and other big cities during
> the summer. The charge differential is what gets people under trees
> when the tree is hit, as in going up one leg, through the chest and
> heart, then down the other leg. Lightning is not to be messed with,
> fun to watch but not to be trapped in.
I'll mention that aluminium oxide (which all Al in contact with air
spontaneously and very quickly gets coated with) is an excellent
*insulator*. Don't know how much lightning cares about it or how boats
are trated, but I would suppose that getting an electrical current
through one in any normal circumstances would be rather difficult.
--
What a beautiful image - Gartner wonks piled high on a burning bush,
screaming that "maybe IIS isn't so good after all" and "our statistics
show a sudden increase in temperature."
-- Chris Rovers
> Scott L wrote:
>> Bill wrote:
>>>
>>> My number was off the top of my head as I remembered it from
>>> oh,...grade school, so ooooops, sorry. There were a lot less people
>>> back in the 50's and they usually knew enough to get in out of the
>>> storm. You can get trapped in a bad spot though, as I found out when
>>> a storm hit when I was in the middle of a lake and had to get flat
>>> inside an aluminum boat. I can't argue with 200 per year given that
>>> we have almost 300 million walking around. I don't think the records
>>> were that great when I was in school????? Bill Baka
>>
>> Lying flat in the boat is more dangerous than crouching in
>> the bottom, preferably on one foot. The problem with
>> lying flat is that there can be quite a charge differential
>> between your head and feet, and that can generate a current
>> that will interfere with the electricity of your heartbeat.
>>
>> Lightning is one of *the* meteorological killers. I believe
>> it's exceeded only by heatwaves.
>
> Getting down inside the boat seemed like the thing to do in a sudden
> thunderstorm, especially in Minnesota or Wisconsin where they ambush
> you by rolling in over the trees. It was an aluminum boat so it should
> have been a good conductor. I wonder what the statistics say about
> being caught like that since those two states live on the tourist
> fishing vacations of people from Chicago and other big cities during
> the summer. The charge differential is what gets people under trees
> when the tree is hit, as in going up one leg, through the chest and
> heart, then down the other leg. Lightning is not to be messed with,
> fun to watch but not to be trapped in.
I'll mention that aluminium oxide (which all Al in contact with air
spontaneously and very quickly gets coated with) is an excellent
*insulator*. Don't know how much lightning cares about it or how boats
are trated, but I would suppose that getting an electrical current
through one in any normal circumstances would be rather difficult.
--
What a beautiful image - Gartner wonks piled high on a burning bush,
screaming that "maybe IIS isn't so good after all" and "our statistics
show a sudden increase in temperature."
-- Chris Rovers