Steve,

I can do you one better than that.  I personally own the kite he flew on 
that historical day, hahahaha.

Phil.
[log in to unmask]


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Steve Forst" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Monday, June 22, 2009 12:54 PM
Subject: Re: How much power in a lightning strike? RE: Lightning Arresters


> Phil,
>
> So when you did your  lightening paper way back in high school, were you
> able to interview Ben Franklin regarding his experiments  with lightening?
>
> 73, Steve KW3A
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Phil Scovell" <[log in to unmask]>
> To: <[log in to unmask]>
> Sent: Monday, June 22, 2009 2:37 PM
> 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.
>> [log in to unmask]
>>
>> Subject: Re: How much power in a lightning strike? RE: Lightning 
>> Arresters
>>
>