[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]

Re: Lightning Storm



Original poster: "Chuck Hobson" <g0mdk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>

This particular Fieldmill works extremely well on Van De Graaff machines. The construction details shown are thorough and well though out.

Chuck Hobson


http://freespace.virgin.net/paul.z/Electronic/ep2.htm#My%20fieldmill

----- Original Message ----- From: "Tesla list" <tesla@xxxxxxxxxx>
To: <tesla@xxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Monday, July 25, 2005 6:10 AM
Subject: RE: Lightning Storm


Original poster: "keith" <keith.cc@xxxxxxxxxxx>

You can use a device called an electric field mill to measure the
magnitude of an electric field, which can give a decent indication of
the likelihood of a lightning strike. Here's all of the substantive
websites I managed to find on this when I was researching it a few
months ago (it seems to be a pretty obscure device)
http://www.precisionstrobe.com/jc/fieldmill/fieldmill.html
http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?articleID=00000ED3-69CA-1C72-9EB7809EC5
88F2D7
http://www.ee.nmt.edu/~langmuir/E100/E100.html
http://www.boltek.com/efm100.htm

Seems like it would be fairly easy to build for someone with a bit of
experience in electronics, and is apparently not too difficult to
calibrate accurately.

Keith C

-----Original Message-----
From: Tesla list [mailto:tesla@xxxxxxxxxx]
Sent: Sunday, July 24, 2005 11:27 PM
To: tesla@xxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Lightning Storm

Original poster: gary350@xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Someone once posted some information for a circuit that could be used
to detect an electrical charge.  I beleive it was used to detect the
charge on the TC but it was a long time ago so I really don't
remember.   Someone suggested it might be used to detect the charge
in the sky of a thunder storm to determine if it was about to
lightning.  Does anyone have this circuit?

While flying my control line model airplane one day I got shocked
when the airplane was flying overhead.  Must have been some type of
static charge in the sky.   Wish I had something to detect the charge
in the sky before I fly my model airplane.

Summer July 1970 Carbondale Illinois it was a very hot summer day no
clouds in the sky the temperature was close to 100 it had been hot as
$#@% all week.  About lunch time there was a small thunder I went
outside to see if there was a thunder storm coming but there was
nothing still no clouds in the sky anywhere.   Again there was
another small thunder but I could not see the lightning the sun was
too bright.   A few minutes later more thunder it was getting louder
and I could barely see the lightning.  About 60 seconds later louder
thunder and lightning was getting brighter.  After about 5 minutes
lightning was very easy to see and thunder was very loud.  Lightning
strikes were about 3 seconds apart one right after the other.  It
sounded like artillery that I saw on a WWII movie.  The lightning
storm was going strong for a good 5 minutes then started to fizzle
out and was over in about 15 minutes.   There were still no clouds in
the sky and the sun was still shinning.   It was totally amazing, no
wind, no rain, no clouds but we had a lightning storm from hell.

Many years ago TV show NOVA did a show on heat lightning.

I was talking to other people that fly control line model airplanes
and several people have stories of getting shocked by lightning most
were cloudy days or over cast days but no storms in the area.  One
person said lightning knocked him cold for 15 minutes.

I did some experements and have been flying a kite on #24 copper wire
200 ft long.  I have not detected any static charge with an NE2 neon
light on sunny days.  It is very interesting to note the neon light
will light up if there is a thunder storm 20 miles away.   Every time
the NE2 flashes it must mean a lightning strike in the thunder
storm.  I do not fly the kite if it is cloudy or over cast or any
thunder storms in the near by area.  Flying a control line model
airplane on 60 ft metal cables is not much different than flying a
kite on copper wire.

I sure would hate to get zapped by lightning.

Gary Weaver