[TheForge] Weathervanes and Lightening

[Paul Sperbeck]

Hi List.

According to http://www.wisconsinpublicservice.com/farm/lightning.asp
" lightning discharge will have 10,000,000-100,000,000 Volts and
1,000-300,000 Amperage. A bolt packs so much voltage that it may leap a mile
or more through the air. Lightning strikes buildings or other objects
because the materials in them provide easier paths to ground than the air.
Lightning is more likely to strike on projecting objects such as tress,
poles, wires or building steeples than on larger, flatter surfaces
projecting to the same height or lower. Lone buildings are also primary
targets."

While that 3/4" conductor will carry a huge load relative to most wires that
we are familiar with, it will barely be discernable from wet wood at the
power levels in a lightning strike.
Having been a Ham Radio operator for 30+ years, and in speaking to other
hams about lightning protection the best defense for a direct strike is (a)
be somewhere else and (b) make sure that your homeowners/business insurance
is paid up.

Paul C. Sperbeck

My Grandfather was a blacksmith,
and It didn't do me one damn bit of good...
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GHS wrote:
>
> The only place I seem to see them on new installs is in locations where
> the likelihood of a strike is great in any case, church steeples and the
> like. The one installer that I talked to made a big deal of the cable
> being heavy enough to transmit the charge without causing a fire from
> overheating. Might have been a sales hype for all I know , but it sounds
> reasonable.

	Well, the stuff I pulled off my neighbor's place was a flexible
	braid of copper, perhaps 40 strands and about 3/4" thick, give
	or take.  I would say it could carry a few thousand amps before
	frying.  Very heavy.
_
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