Another question, this time about lightning

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  • mike95490
    mike95490 Solar Expert Posts: 9,583 ✭✭✭✭✭
    #32
    Solray said:
    The strike is not the issue most times, it's the charged ions in the air accumulating on components.
    No.  It it was charged ions accumulating, every car radio antenna would fry the radio,

     It's Induced parasitic current/voltage from a nearby strike that takes out gear.   Think of an air core transformer, with the lightning plasma channel being one winding, and your ethernet cable 40 feet away being the other winding.    How efficient would that "40 foot air core transformer" need to be be, to induce a couple hundred volts on the remote wires.  With the lightning being a bazillion volts, less than 1% still leaves enough juice to fry your gear.  Even at 60 or 100 feet away, stuff will be fried, or damaged to the point it dies in weeks.
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  • Solray
    Solray Registered Users Posts: 246 ✭✭✭
    edited July 2017 #33
    Car radio antennas are not grounded. :)

    A moving thunderstorm also gathers positively charged particles along the ground that travel with the storm. As the differences in charges continue to increase, positively charged particles rise up tall objects such as trees, houses, solar arrays, and telephone poles—and people.
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  • mcgivor
    mcgivor Solar Expert Posts: 3,854 ✭✭✭✭✭✭
    edited July 2017 #34
    Not all cloud to ground strikes are negative cloud, positive ground, most are but the reverse can occur and are generally 10 times the strength. Lighting dose hit cars, the tires are no match for something that has just traveled miles through air, the occupants are usually unharmed, Faraday effect, but electrical system failure, and tire failure are common.
    Sometimes no information is better than misleading  information.

    http://lightningsafety.com/nlsi_pls/vehicle_strike.html
    http://wxbrad.com/positive-lightning-why-its-so-dangerous/
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  • jonr
    jonr Solar Expert Posts: 1,386 ✭✭✭✭
    #35
    Induced voltage from lightning is helped by surge suppressors.

    "Bell Labs determined through experimentation that a lightning strike almost a mile away from phone lines would induce 35+ volts per meter (39") of exposed wire. "

    I am available for custom hardware/firmware development

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  • Mangas
    Mangas Solar Expert Posts: 547 ✭✭✭✭
    edited July 2017 #36
    Many years ago my vehicle was hit by lightning in the mountains on a paved highway with a ponderosa forest bordering each side of the roadway.

    When I pulled off, two tires had plenty of small holes in the sidewalls, the antenna was melted, evic computer fried, and there was a large round burnt dent in the roof.

    Sheriff and the garage where it was towed were understandably enlightened as was I and my passengers!

    Another learning experience. . .

    Then, a few days ago lightning struck one of our desert century plant 20' fluorescents during an electrical storm. Curious how it behaves.





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  • Porschephanatic
    Porschephanatic Registered Users Posts: 62 ✭✭
    #37
    Fascinating thread!      B)
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  • SteveInMN
    SteveInMN Registered Users Posts: 3 ✭
    #38
    russ said:
    Re: Another question, this time about lightning

    Earthquake - The building code here in Turkey is quite strict (if followed). There is more reinforcing steel in my house than industrial structures many places.

    The inspection system is strong - again if it is adhered to. İn the case of big construction companies they often have a sister company to do the inspection. İf the intent of the company is good then all is well. İf they are shysters then you have a problem.

    For our project (5 homes in a group) the inspection company did a good job which İ am thankful off.

    This quote is pretty interesting in February, 2023.
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  • BB.
    BB. Super Moderators, Administrators Posts: 33,613 admin
    #39
    Yep,

    From a week ago article:

    https://www.cbsnews.com/news/turkey-earthquakes-building-contractors-arrested/

    Antakya, Turkey — Turkish officials detained or issued arrest warrants for some 130 people allegedly involved in shoddy and illegal construction methods as rescuers on Sunday continued to pull a few survivors from the rubble, six days after a pair of earthquakes collapsed thousands of buildings.

    The death toll from Monday's quakes that hit southeastern Turkey and northern Syria stood at 28,191 — with another 80,000-plus injured — as of Sunday morning and was certain to rise as bodies continued to be uncovered.

    As despair also bred rage at the agonizingly slow rescue efforts, the focus turned to who was to blame for not better preparing people in the earthquake-prone region that includes an area of Syria that was already suffering from years of civil war.

    Even though Turkey has, on paper, construction codes that meet current earthquake-engineering standards, they are too rarely enforced, explaining why thousands of buildings slumped onto their side or pancaked downward onto residents.

    ...

    -Bill
    Near San Francisco California: 3.5kWatt Grid Tied Solar power system+small backup genset
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