500 Giga watts- Franklin wanted to be a ham - he had a key tied to the kite and it was a straight key - the forerunner of a J37.  Too bad nobody had a receiver.

Jesting, 


Mark


 


Mark J. Senk  |  412-386-6513  |  [log in to unmask] 
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-----Original Message-----
From: For blind ham radio operators [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Phil Scovell
Sent: Monday, June 22, 2009 2:38 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: How much power in a lightning strike? RE: Lightning Arresters

I did a research paper in high school on lightning and I have watched several lightning specials on satellite channels over the years, plus, as mentioned earlier, I was three feet from a lightning flash over, for what that is worth, but according to one of the articles I read for my research paper, lightning bolts can have up to 1 billion volts and 500 amps of power. 
This generally , according to what I have read, is the extreme high end of the rating but you can be 20 miles distant from a storm and still be struck by a lightning bolt.  I've also been about 75 feet from a telephone pole that was hit by lightning.  One of the problems of being struck seems to be if you are carrying an Ipod, a cellphone, or any electronic device based upon the bulk of the research to date.  I carry my cell phone with a clip on the back of it and clip it to my shirt pocket, instead of a belt clip, because that way I don't keep brushing the phone off my belt when passing too closely to a table or chair.  So, in short, if I'm hit, maybe my heart will be the focus of the strike.  Ball lightning I have confirmed by two different people.  One was a Nebraska farmer who saw lightning strike a tree, roll down to the ground in a ball, and literally roll along the ground until it hit a fence post or something sticking up in its way and then exploded as it that was where it hit in the first place.  Another farmer friend watched from the house as lightning, in New York, struck the ground, bounced 4 and 5 times into the air, and then finally exploded.  That's some pretty weird plasma that I don't want to be around when it hits.

Phil.
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Subject: Re: How much power in a lightning strike? RE: Lightning Arresters