lightning

"Callistus Valerius" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Living in Arizona in the summer can be quite hazardous at times with
lightning. Was under the impression that the rubber tires protected you,
but found out that it doesn't. The reason a car protects you, is because
the lightning goes around you because you are sitting in a cage, but not
true on a bike. You're suppose to find shelter, but many times, I'm out
where I'm the tallest thing out there, which really feels spooky when
their
is lightning. I guess you could lay down on the ground, but that gets old
if it starts raining, so I guess you just take your chances, and say a
prayer.

Your tires are not rubber, they probably mostly carbon.

Callistus Valerius said:

Living in Arizona in the summer can be quite hazardous at times with
lightning. Was under the impression that the rubber tires protected you,
but found out that it doesn't. The reason a car protects you, is because
the lightning goes around you because you are sitting in a cage, but not
true on a bike.

[snip]

Dear Cal,

Standard anti-lightning position:

http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/bobhope/images/vcvg43.jpg

Cheers,

Carl Fogel

Quoted message said:

"Callistus Valerius" <[email hidden]> wrote

Quoted message said:

Living in Arizona in the summer can be quite hazardous at times with
lightning. Was under the impression that the rubber tires protected you,
but found out that it doesn't. The reason a car protects you, is because
the lightning goes around you because you are sitting in a cage, but not
true on a bike. You're suppose to find shelter, but many times, I'm out
where I'm the tallest thing out there, which really feels spooky when
their
is lightning. I guess you could lay down on the ground, but that gets old
if it starts raining, so I guess you just take your chances, and say a
prayer.

DI said:

Your tires are not rubber, they probably mostly carbon.

Rubber isn't carbon?

--
Andrew Muzi
www.yellowjersey.org
Open every day since 1 April, 1971

Wait, you are kidding me!

A electrical current that travels thousands of feet through the air couldn't
find itself through a few MM of a rubber compound?

In article <[email hidden]>,

Callistus Valerius said:

Living in Arizona in the summer can be quite hazardous at times
with
lightning. Was under the impression that the rubber tires protected
you, but found out that it doesn't. The reason a car protects you,
is because the lightning goes around you because you are sitting in a
cage, but not true on a bike. You're suppose to find shelter, but
many times, I'm out where I'm the tallest thing out there, which
really feels spooky when their is lightning. I guess you could lay
down on the ground, but that gets old if it starts raining, so I
guess you just take your chances, and say a prayer.

I've always figured that if lightning can jump 50,000 feet, an inch of
rubber and air was not likely to be an effective insulator.

On Jul 10, 7:32 pm, "Callistus Valerius" <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Living in Arizona in the summer can be quite hazardous at times with
lightning. Was under the impression that the rubber tires protected you,
but found out that it doesn't.

Is there a story about the circumstances surrounding how you found
this out?

DR

Kurd said:

Wait, you are kidding me!

A electrical current that travels thousands of feet through the air couldn't
find itself through a few MM of a rubber compound?

Perhaps the metal plate in one's head might best be replaced with
carbon fiber?
(token reference to the movie character "Skunk" that had been struck
by lightning 87 times - but can't remember the movie title).

-bdbafh

On Jul 11, 10:32 am, "Callistus Valerius" <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

I guess you could lay down on the ground, but that gets old
if it starts raining, so I guess you just take your chances, and say a
prayer.

Laying on the ground while it's raining might help you avoid the
direct hit, but you're still likely to get quite a jolt if a bolt hits
nearby:

http://www.jibjab.com/view/80207

tiborg said:

Laying on the ground while it's raining might help you avoid the
direct hit, but you're still likely to get quite a jolt if a bolt hits
nearby:

You'd want to curl up to minimize the peak potential difference which
would occur across your body, and lie on your right side so that the
shortest path isn't close to your heart.

Tim McNamara said:

I've always figured that if lightning can jump 50,000 feet, an
inch of rubber and air was not likely to be an effective
insulator.

Well, it doesn't need to be. If it makes another place a smoother
path for the lightning it would do.

BTW: car tires are not isolators either, it would be a bad idea to
have the car body act as capacitor.

--
MfG/Best regards
helmut springer

Callistus Valerius said:

Living in Arizona in the summer can be quite hazardous at times with
lightning. Was under the impression that the rubber tires protected you,
but found out that it doesn't. The reason a car protects you, is because
the lightning goes around you because you are sitting in a cage, but not
true on a bike. You're suppose to find shelter, but many times, I'm out
where I'm the tallest thing out there, which really feels spooky when their
is lightning. I guess you could lay down on the ground, but that gets old
if it starts raining, so I guess you just take your chances, and say a
prayer.

Prayer has no known deterrent effect against lightning or anything else
for that matter.

Dorfus

..

Quoted message said:

Laying on the ground while it's raining might help you avoid the
direct hit, but you're still likely to get quite a jolt if a bolt hits
nearby:

------------
http://www.lightningsafety.noaa.gov/outdoors.htm pic of cows mowed down by
lightning.

Quoted message said:

Prayer has no known deterrent effect against lightning or anything else
for that matter.

Dorfus

-------------
How about just plain old statistics....

On a per-capita basis, the odds of being killed while riding a bicycle are
nearly the same as the odds of being killed by a bolt of lightning (this
author has, in fact, been struck by lightning -- albeit indirectly -- so he
is well aware that "extremely improbable" is not quite the same as
"impossible

whole web page http://neptune.spacebears.com/opine/helmets.html

bdbafh said:

Kurd said:

Wait, you are kidding me!

A electrical current that travels thousands of feet through the air couldn't
find itself through a few MM of a rubber compound?

Perhaps the metal plate in one's head might best be replaced with
carbon fiber?
(token reference to the movie character "Skunk" that had been struck
by lightning 87 times - but can't remember the movie title).

The Great Outdoors. 66 times, 67 at the end of the movie.

--

__o Kristian Zoerhoff
_'\(,_ [email hidden]
(_)/ (_)

I've always wondered whether it's best to ride on the side of the road
with the power lines, or the other side.

If the inductance is low enough, the power lines are protectors. If not,
it may be they just add an antenna to you.

Nobody seems to know which it is. All you get is advice from womanish
men to stay indoors when there's thunderstorms. (If they weren't
womanish, they'd know it's an interesting physics problem.)

The Strike Alert lightning detector is amusing to have. It lets you know
how much lightning is missing you by, as well as the presence of passing
electric fences and arcing power poles. (At home, prop it in a window and
listen to the lightning in the area.) I don't know that it's of any actual
use, but just a guy-curiosity thing.

--
Ron Hardin
[email hidden]

On the internet, nobody knows you're a jerk.

Quoted message said:

I've always wondered whether it's best to ride on the side of the road
with the power lines, or the other side.

If the inductance is low enough, the power lines are protectors. If not,
it may be they just add an antenna to you.

Nobody seems to know which it is. All you get is advice from womanish
men to stay indoors when there's thunderstorms. (If they weren't
womanish, they'd know it's an interesting physics problem.)

The Strike Alert lightning detector is amusing to have. It lets you know
how much lightning is missing you by, as well as the presence of passing
electric fences and arcing power poles. (At home, prop it in a window and
listen to the lightning in the area.) I don't know that it's of any

actual

Quoted message said:

use, but just a guy-curiosity thing.

--

Do they have a handlebar mount model? At least you would have something
to distract you from the fear, if you had a gadget like that.

Callistus Valerius said:

Quoted message said:

I've always wondered whether it's best to ride on the side of the road
with the power lines, or the other side.

If the inductance is low enough, the power lines are protectors. If not,
it may be they just add an antenna to you.

Nobody seems to know which it is. All you get is advice from womanish
men to stay indoors when there's thunderstorms. (If they weren't
womanish, they'd know it's an interesting physics problem.)

The Strike Alert lightning detector is amusing to have. It lets you know
how much lightning is missing you by, as well as the presence of passing
electric fences and arcing power poles. (At home, prop it in a window and
listen to the lightning in the area.) I don't know that it's of any

actual

Quoted message said:

use, but just a guy-curiosity thing.

--

Do they have a handlebar mount model? At least you would have something
to distract you from the fear, if you had a gadget like that.

It has a pocket clip (very small device), and beeps the distance.

It detects out to about 50 miles.
1 beep 24-48 miles
2 beeps 12-24 miles
3 beeps 6-12 miles
4 beeps 0-6 miles

At 6 miles you can hear the thunder, I guess, so you could count lightning/thunder
seconds and divide by 5. Or beep/thunder seconds, for that matter. The beep happens
when the lightning does.

I don't know how it works, but it seems tolerably accurate. You'd like it to notice
the phases of the normal modes extending up to the ionosphere, but I doubt it's that.
Probably some broadband thing and signal strength.

--
Ron Hardin
[email hidden]

On the internet, nobody knows you're a jerk.

Dorfus Dippintush said:

Prayer has no known deterrent effect against lightning or anything
else for that matter.

Anyone with your name would feel that way.

Callistus Valerius said:

Quoted message said:

I've always wondered whether it's best to ride on the side of the road
with the power lines, or the other side.

If the inductance is low enough, the power lines are protectors. If not,
it may be they just add an antenna to you.

Nobody seems to know which it is. All you get is advice from womanish
men to stay indoors when there's thunderstorms. (If they weren't
womanish, they'd know it's an interesting physics problem.)

The Strike Alert lightning detector is amusing to have. It lets you know
how much lightning is missing you by, as well as the presence of passing
electric fences and arcing power poles. (At home, prop it in a window and
listen to the lightning in the area.) I don't know that it's of any

actual

Quoted message said:

use, but just a guy-curiosity thing.

--

Do they have a handlebar mount model? At least you would have something
to distract you from the fear, if you had a gadget like that.

Dear Cal,

Look at the bigger picture:

https://thunderstorm.vaisala.com/tux/jsp/explorer/explorer.jsp;jsessionid=70302096231136590952293

Cheers,

Carl Fogel