[TowerTalk] lightning and insulated elements..

[Gary Schafer]

> -----Original Message-----
> From: towertalk-bounces at contesting.com [mailto:towertalk-
> bounces at contesting.com] On Behalf Of Ian White GM3SEK
> Sent: Sunday, February 12, 2006 10:13 AM
> To: towertalk at contesting.com
> Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] lightning and insulated elements..
> 
> Peter Chadwick wrote:
> >At one time, lightning arrestors with radio active tips were used, the
> >idea being that the extra ionisation would attract the
> >lightning bolt to the arrestor rather than teh building inteneded to be
> >protected. Whether the efficacy or otherwise was ever
> >proved is another matter.
> 
> No, the extra ionisation was too localised to make any dramatic
> difference. What they did find was radioactively contaminated rainwater
> running down lightning conductors... and if one of the radioactive tips
> ever was hit by lightning, guess what happened then?
> 
> They ended up in my former employer's museum of dumb things to do with
> radioactivity.
> 
> 
> 
> --
> 73 from Ian GM3SEK

The wind would blow the ionization away before it could build up enough to
do any good. Yes you are right about what would happen if the radioactive
rod did take a hit!
There was quite an uproar here to ban those things when introduced to the
market.
It was another one of those supposedly magic lightning preventors.

73
Gary  K4FMX