"Blaauw, Niels" wrote: > > As I read, some people go INTO the water to avoid being hit by lightning. A > diver actually felt the current going through his body and lived to tell us > about it. [snip] > Still, I am wondering about one small detail... I guess the diver was > talking about salt water, that is a better electric conductor then the human > body. In sweet water, the story might be completely different. Any surviving > sweet water divers that have something to add? Not a diver. But, I have watched this thread for a couple days now, and feel a couple of general principles may assist folks in sorting the wheat from the chaff: 1. Anything -- makes not much difference whether it is a "conductor" -or- an "insulator" in the usual sense of 110 volt household current -- which protrudes above the surrounding surface is a prime locus for a lightning strike. Michael Edelman correctly identified the reason as due to the electrostatic potential, pointed objects having a greater electrostatic potential than rounded ones. Morals: don't stand up under thunderheads; if on the water, minimize your protrusion above the water surface; if on land, don't locate yourself near an isolated tree (or two), although a _large_ copse may provide better protection than crouching out in the open; fiberglass is _not_ an insulating material at the potentials of a lightning strike -- a fiberglass hat or hull will not protect you. 2. If your body is _in the path_ a lightning strike takes, there is a good chance you will be toast, whether you choose to hold onto your paddle or your derriere (sp?). Reason: the potential difference generated across your body during a strike is enormous -- enough to fry you in the worst case, and enough to stop your heart in the best case. Morals: don't point objects into the sky under a thunderhead (saw a guy "draw sparks" from the sky with his wooden-shafted ice axe during a storm one day; the rope connecting him to me was seconds from being cut by my "belay knife"); hiding under things may not work (viz., the incidents in which folks hid in caves) because "ground currents" may trace through you; if on the water, swimming may help to minimize your profile, but current through the water may zap you anyway (makes little difference whether in fresh or salt water). 3. If you take reasonable precautions, the probability of being struck by lightning is _very small_. Moral: go paddle and don't worry about it! -- Dave Kruger Astoria, OR *************************************************************************** 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 Thu Mar 29 2001 - 02:40:22 PST
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