In college I had a physics professor that specialized in electrostatics which is what lightning is. He gave instructions on lightning protection by telling a story about being in the mountains in a thunderstorm. A lightning strike develops when the electrostatic potential is high enough. This potential is directly related to your height above a flat surface. In my professors story, people walking on a mountain top in a thunderstorm would start to feel static (your hair standing on end) and just drop to their knees or even lower until the static feel was gone. If I felt the static feel in a kayak, I would be in the water quickly. If I was concerned I would lay in the bottom of my boat ( a Klepper is good for this) or in a fiberglass boat I would hug the hull. Dave Christianson At 04:54 PM 3/26/2001, Michael Edelman wrote: >2. It is most unlikely that lightning would strike a kayak since it is >low >and has nothing like a mast or antenna to attract a strike. > >Masts don't "attract" strikes. What causes a strike in one location over >another is a difference in charge. *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************Received on Tue Mar 27 2001 - 05:58:51 PST
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