[TowerTalk] Fwd: Static Discharge Porcupines?

[Hans Hammarquist]

It appears to me that there are no ways to predict where the lightning will strike. Yes, you know that it will be somewhere below a the thunder storm passing by but the strikes seem to ignore high structures from not that high.


I once (don't remember from where. Probably Yahoo or U-tube or similar) saw a high speed video of the development of a lightning strike. You could see how a "network" developed coming from the cloud. It appeared as if a "rod" stretch out from the cloud, divided in two. Each of these, two branches divided in two and it continued until one branch hit an object. When this happened a lightning followed the branches up to the cloud. The first development was relatively "slow", a couple of mS. The heavy current strike was fast, so fast so you couldn't really tell what direction it went. It was fascinating.


(I have had three known strikes in my house. The first one burnt the house down. The second and third made marks in my lightning protection. The third also blowout all my surge protectors. The house is surrounded by 80 - 100 feet tall trees in all directions. Figures!)


Hans - N2JFS



-----Original Message-----
From: Chuck Dietz <w5prchuck at gmail.com>
To: sawyered <sawyered at earthlink.net>
Cc: towertalk <towertalk at contesting.com>
Sent: Wed, Aug 12, 2015 10:01 am
Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] Static Discharge Porcupines?


Interestingly enough, when I had a 130 foot tower on the east side of
Galveston
Bay on a promontory out in the salt water, I was the highest
structure for
miles.  I expected to have frequent strikes, but had none
that I know of over a
several year period.  The lightning favored the
highly conductive salt water
over the tower.

Chuck W5PR

o/towertalk