Six striking facts about lightning

How do different gasses in the atmosphere effect lightning?

Are some gases more conductive then other gasses?

Ball lighting bit is interesting

Ian said:

Ball lighting bit is interesting

Never seen it myself. Would be interesting to be a seer of such a thing.

party_pants said:

Ian said:

Ball lighting bit is interesting

Never seen it myself. Would be interesting to be a seer of such a thing.

i’ve seen it before twice. one of the times, it came pretty close to my boss

stumpy_seahorse said:

party_pants said:

Ian said:

Ball lighting bit is interesting

Never seen it myself. Would be interesting to be a seer of such a thing.

i’ve seen it before twice. one of the times, it came pretty close to my boss

Wow! What were the conditions?

My mother says she saw ball lightning come through the shed on the family farm when she was in her teens. So that would have been in the 1940s. She told us this before she started losing her memory.

Ian said:

stumpy_seahorse said:

party_pants said:

Never seen it myself. Would be interesting to be a seer of such a thing.

i’ve seen it before twice. one of the times, it came pretty close to my boss

Wow! What were the conditions?

at that time, we were out in waist deep water, hot day and a thunderstorm came over very quickly. most bolts were hitting the coastline not far from us. then a very close hit and a lightning ball almost skipping (probablt 500mm-1m above the water was heading towards my boss.

He ducked under the water, but it was fairly clear of him. It slowly petered out to nothing in 4-500 metres.

2nd was out near Boulie. dry lightning, similar sort of situation, but saw it from a distance. probably went for a kilometre, if that.

stumpy_seahorse said:

Ian said:

stumpy_seahorse said:

i’ve seen it before twice. one of the times, it came pretty close to my boss

Wow! What were the conditions?

at that time, we were out in waist deep water, hot day and a thunderstorm came over very quickly. most bolts were hitting the coastline not far from us. then a very close hit and a lightning ball almost skipping (probablt 500mm-1m above the water was heading towards my boss.

He ducked under the water, but it was fairly clear of him. It slowly petered out to nothing in 4-500 metres.

2nd was out near Boulie. dry lightning, similar sort of situation, but saw it from a distance. probably went for a kilometre, if that.

Lucky in more than one way..

Doesn’t provide any support for this….

“ They suggest ball lightning is a kind of leftover effect of a lightning strike. The theory is that some of the positive and negative charged particles (ions) left in the wake of a strike could accumulate on the outside of non-conducting surfaces such as a window, instead of dissipating as they normally do (either by recombining or travelling to the ground).”

I’ve seen fireflies that from a distance of say 25 metres look like min min lights.

Ian said:

stumpy_seahorse said:

Ian said:

Wow! What were the conditions?

at that time, we were out in waist deep water, hot day and a thunderstorm came over very quickly. most bolts were hitting the coastline not far from us. then a very close hit and a lightning ball almost skipping (probablt 500mm-1m above the water was heading towards my boss.

He ducked under the water, but it was fairly clear of him. It slowly petered out to nothing in 4-500 metres.

2nd was out near Boulie. dry lightning, similar sort of situation, but saw it from a distance. probably went for a kilometre, if that.

Lucky in more than one way..

Doesn’t provide any support for this….

“ They suggest ball lightning is a kind of leftover effect of a lightning strike. The theory is that some of the positive and negative charged particles (ions) left in the wake of a strike could accumulate on the outside of non-conducting surfaces such as a window, instead of dissipating as they normally do (either by recombining or travelling to the ground).”

no, both times were nowhere near a window, the first could’ve formed near a post, but they would have been conductive (covered in salt water).

The second I didn’t see form, but it was in scrub. (one of the best passtimes up there was watching the storms roll past)

Peak Warming Man said:

I’ve seen fireflies that from a distance of say 25 metres look like min min lights.

maybe you are spending too much time looking at nimbin lights…

Saw fireflies out front of house recenty. Had one sitting on my fingertip.

speaking of lightning…

Transition is about to see some.

(( and looks like a nice storm brewing in the gulf…)

http://www.weatherzone.com.au/radar/sa/adelaide

stumpy_seahorse said:

speaking of lightning…

Transition is about to see some.

(( and looks like a nice storm brewing in the gulf…)

http://www.weatherzone.com.au/radar/sa/adelaide

just having a look at that, dog wouldn’t be able to hear it over the train at the moment, making a lot of noise filling

Looks like a bit of light rain about. Pity the evaporation rate is so high. http://www.essentialenergy.com.au/content/stormtracker

Ian said:

Ball lighting bit is interesting

And Balls to your lightning too!

bob(from black rock) said:

Ian said:

Ball lighting bit is interesting

And Balls to your lightning too!

Lightning Never strikes the same place twice, who is the fact checker?

bob(from black rock) said:

bob(from black rock) said:

Ian said:

Ball lighting bit is interesting

And Balls to your lightning too!

Lightning Never strikes the same place twice, who is the fact checker?

Still recall reading in the Guinness book of records(circa 1970) about a bloke at Gundagai, a sheep farmer. He was 59 years and had been struck by lightning 59 times.

roughbarked said:

bob(from black rock) said:

bob(from black rock) said:

And Balls to your lightning too!

Lightning Never strikes the same place twice, who is the fact checker?

Still recall reading in the Guinness book of records(circa 1970) about a bloke at Gundagai, a sheep farmer. He was 59 years and had been struck by lightning 59 times.

from the OP

The world record for a person being struck by lightning is held by American Roy C Sullivan, an ex-park ranger who survived being struck seven times. Many people thought he was a human conductor, but his job just happened to mean he spent a lot of time outdoors in a national park where there were a lot of lightning storms, says Dr Karl.

roughbarked said:

bob(from black rock) said:

bob(from black rock) said:

And Balls to your lightning too!

Lightning Never strikes the same place twice, who is the fact checker?

Still recall reading in the Guinness book of records(circa 1970) about a bloke at Gundagai, a sheep farmer. He was 59 years and had been struck by lightning 59 times.

Farq! what s silly crunt, should have stayed indoors at those times.

stumpy_seahorse said:

roughbarked said:

bob(from black rock) said:

Lightning Never strikes the same place twice, who is the fact checker?

Still recall reading in the Guinness book of records(circa 1970) about a bloke at Gundagai, a sheep farmer. He was 59 years and had been struck by lightning 59 times.

from the OP

The world record for a person being struck by lightning is held by American Roy C Sullivan, an ex-park ranger who survived being struck seven times. Many people thought he was a human conductor, but his job just happened to mean he spent a lot of time outdoors in a national park where there were a lot of lightning storms, says Dr Karl.

Not sure that the entry in the Guinness Book of records could actually be substantiated. However, it was there.

roughbarked said:

stumpy_seahorse said:

roughbarked said:

Still recall reading in the Guinness book of records(circa 1970) about a bloke at Gundagai, a sheep farmer. He was 59 years and had been struck by lightning 59 times.

from the OP

The world record for a person being struck by lightning is held by American Roy C Sullivan, an ex-park ranger who survived being struck seven times. Many people thought he was a human conductor, but his job just happened to mean he spent a lot of time outdoors in a national park where there were a lot of lightning storms, says Dr Karl.

Not sure that the entry in the Guinness Book of records could actually be substantiated. However, it was there.

shenanigans…

http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/most-lightning-strikes-survived

>>says Dr Karl

See previous post concerning Karls.

stumpy_seahorse said:

roughbarked said:

stumpy_seahorse said:

from the OP

The world record for a person being struck by lightning is held by American Roy C Sullivan, an ex-park ranger who survived being struck seven times. Many people thought he was a human conductor, but his job just happened to mean he spent a lot of time outdoors in a national park where there were a lot of lightning storms, says Dr Karl.

Not sure that the entry in the Guinness Book of records could actually be substantiated. However, it was there.

shenanigans…

http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/most-lightning-strikes-survived

Clearly they changed the record since then.

roughbarked said:

stumpy_seahorse said:

roughbarked said:

Not sure that the entry in the Guinness Book of records could actually be substantiated. However, it was there.

shenanigans…

http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/most-lightning-strikes-survived

Clearly they changed the record since then.

riiiiiiiiiiiight… for a lower one…

Peak Warming Man said:

>>says Dr Karl

See previous post concerning Karls.

see link to current GBoR record…

stumpy_seahorse said:

roughbarked said:

stumpy_seahorse said:

shenanigans…

http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/most-lightning-strikes-survived

Clearly they changed the record since then.

riiiiiiiiiiiight… for a lower one…

I doubt the veracity of reports was checked so well, in the day.

stumpy_seahorse said:

Peak Warming Man said:

>>says Dr Karl

See previous post concerning Karls.

see link to current GBoR record…

Has anyone here been struck by lightning? and did it hurt like fuck?

roughbarked said:

stumpy_seahorse said:

roughbarked said:

Clearly they changed the record since then.

riiiiiiiiiiiight… for a lower one…

I doubt the veracity of reports was checked so well, in the day.

still, if you read in the 70s that the record was 59 strikes, then why in 1977 would they give the record to someone only struck 7 times?

bob(from black rock) said:

stumpy_seahorse said:

Peak Warming Man said:

>>says Dr Karl

See previous post concerning Karls.

see link to current GBoR record…

Has anyone here been struck by lightning? and did it hurt like fuck?

you’re obviously doing it wrong… try more lube or cut your fingernails…

stumpy_seahorse said:

roughbarked said:

stumpy_seahorse said:

riiiiiiiiiiiight… for a lower one…

I doubt the veracity of reports was checked so well, in the day.

still, if you read in the 70s that the record was 59 strikes, then why in 1977 would they give the record to someone only struck 7 times?

Cos the poor bastard died? Just a guess.

stumpy_seahorse said:

roughbarked said:

stumpy_seahorse said:

riiiiiiiiiiiight… for a lower one…

I doubt the veracity of reports was checked so well, in the day.

still, if you read in the 70s that the record was 59 strikes, then why in 1977 would they give the record to someone only struck 7 times?

I’m not the oracle on the GBoR.

I haven’t been struck by lightning but I have seen some weird effects. ie: the house next door was struck on the TV antenna and it felt like the roof lifted off here. It was dark because the power disappeared before we heard the noise. The wife was standing in the lounge near the TV and I was about 3.5 metres away in the kitchen. She came flying across the room on a descending blue ladder of light.

roughbarked said:

stumpy_seahorse said:

roughbarked said:

I doubt the veracity of reports was checked so well, in the day.

still, if you read in the 70s that the record was 59 strikes, then why in 1977 would they give the record to someone only struck 7 times?

I’m not the oracle on the GBoR.

not the poster-boy for honesty either…

stumpy_seahorse said:

roughbarked said:

stumpy_seahorse said:

still, if you read in the 70s that the record was 59 strikes, then why in 1977 would they give the record to someone only struck 7 times?

I’m not the oracle on the GBoR.

not the poster-boy for honesty either…

Hey, lightning never strikes the same place twice,

bob(from black rock) said:

stumpy_seahorse said:

roughbarked said:

I’m not the oracle on the GBoR.

not the poster-boy for honesty either…

Hey, lightning never strikes the same place twice,

sure it does…

but that was shown nearly 2 hours ago…

bob(from black rock) said:

stumpy_seahorse said:

roughbarked said:

I’m not the oracle on the GBoR.

not the poster-boy for honesty either…

Hey, lightning never strikes the same place twice,

sure it does…

but that was shown nearly 2 hours ago…

stumpy_seahorse said:

roughbarked said:

stumpy_seahorse said:

still, if you read in the 70s that the record was 59 strikes, then why in 1977 would they give the record to someone only struck 7 times?

I’m not the oracle on the GBoR.

not the poster-boy for honesty either…

Fuck off. It was in the book I read. That I’ve never bothered reading it since, is also honest.

Did learn something while back, I believe it’s mostly that people don’t resume breathing quickly enough after being hit, that lung function stops, that kills a lot of people. Apparently the signal for breathing comes from in the brain, whereas the heart electrical signal is generated locally in the heart. Something like that.

I’ve also seen ball lightning twice: once when lightning struck a football field, and a glowing ball about the size of a baseball floated about 1m above the ground from about the middle of the field (White Flat in Ballarat, if anyone knows it) south through the goalposts (against a prevailing southerly wind) to strike a tree just outside the field, where it disappeared; the other was after a cloud-to-cloud strike, and the ball remained just below cloud level drifting randomly.

bob(from black rock) said:

Lightning Never strikes the same place twice, who is the fact checker?

Lightning often strikes the same place twice (or more). Tall statues such as Statue of Liberty or Christ the Redeemer have been struck numerous times.

Divine Angel said:

bob(from black rock) said:

Lightning Never strikes the same place twice, who is the fact checker?

Lightning often strikes the same place twice (or more). Tall statues such as Statue of Liberty or Christ the Redeemer have been struck numerous times.

Got to be one of the dumbest sayings ever. Places that get struck by lightning tend to get struck thousands of times.

dv said:

Divine Angel said:

bob(from black rock) said:

Lightning Never strikes the same place twice, who is the fact checker?

Lightning often strikes the same place twice (or more). Tall statues such as Statue of Liberty or Christ the Redeemer have been struck numerous times.

Got to be one of the dumbest sayings ever. Places that get struck by lightning tend to get struck thousands of times.

The usual explanation is that back in the day before earth rods whatever struck was destroyed so you could fairly say it never strikes twice.

The goal posts at the local football oval used to get struck a bit, my best mate at school lived over the road from there. But not twice from the same storm.

“Lightning struck the lightning rod!”
“Well we can toss that out, it won’t ever happen again…”

AwesomeO said:

dv said:

Divine Angel said:

Lightning often strikes the same place twice (or more). Tall statues such as Statue of Liberty or Christ the Redeemer have been struck numerous times.

Got to be one of the dumbest sayings ever. Places that get struck by lightning tend to get struck thousands of times.

The usual explanation is that back in the day before earth rods whatever struck was destroyed so you could fairly say it never strikes twice.

Yeah they sure made stuff shitty back in the day.

I suppose all you can say is that lightning is less likely to strike an area immediately after a strike. The same place can be hit more than once during the course of a storm.

Maybe they meant to say: “lightning can only kill you once”.

>I suppose all you can say is that lightning is less likely to strike an area immediately after a strike. The same place can be hit more than once during the course of a storm.

often a strike is made of many strikes/pulses, along the same of near the same path

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lightning

High-speed videos (examined frame-by-frame) show that most negative CG lightning flashes are made up of 3 or 4 individual strokes, though there may be as many as 30.

Each re-strike is separated by a relatively large amount of time, typically 40 to 50 milliseconds, as other charged regions in the cloud are discharged in subsequent strokes. Re-strikes often cause a noticeable “strobe light” effect.

Each successive stroke is preceded by intermediate dart leader strokes that have a faster rise time but lower amplitude than the initial return stroke. Each subsequent stroke usually re-uses the discharge channel taken by the previous one, but the channel may be offset from its previous position as wind displaces the hot channel.