(Safety Short Production, Inc.)
Back in 1791 when Ben Franklin flew his kite in a thunderstorm, nobody really know how dangerous lightning could be… especially Ben himself. Lucky for Ben...he learned a valuable lesson in science that nasty, rainy night. But he also learned something else… a lesson in lightning safety.
Today… thanks to Ben Franklin's experiment.. we know that lightning is a discharge of atmospheric electricity. Here's what happens. Negative electrical charges generated by a thunderstorm induce a positive charge in the ground below. The attraction between positive and negative charges makes the positive ground current flow up buildings, trees, and other elevated objects in an effort to establish a flow of current.
Normally the air acts as an insulator, preventing the flow of current. But when the electrical potential becomes large enough it overcomes the resistance of the air… and forces a path for the current to flow. That's when a lightning flash occurs. The flash is really a huge spark…. Like that produced in a sparkplug. A spark between a cloud and the earth may measure eight miles long.
The charge may reach one hundred million volts and the temperature may reach thirty-thousand degrees centigrade… five times hotter than the sun. Lightning can be deadly. Its high voltage can force a huge amount of electricity through the human body, even if the resistance of the body is high. Lightning can kill you in a second. It can cause burns ...or set your hair or clothes on fire. In fact, every year, approximately, 100 people in the United States are killed by lightning. Another 250 are injured. Property loss is estimated to be in the hundreds of millions of dollars annually.
When you're exposed to lightning, recognize the danger… and take steps to protect yourself. If you're outside, get inside a house, a large building, or a closed car.
If indoors, keep away from doorways, open windows, and electrical fixtures that might conduct lightning from the outside. Avoid using the telephone except in emergencies.
If you're caught outside stay off metal equipment or small metal vehicles like tractors, motorcycles, bicycles, and golf carts. Remember, metal is a good conductor of electricity. Steer clear of metal pipes, wire clotheslines, and fences which could carry lightning to you from some distance away.
Avoid projecting above the surrounding landscape, as you would do if you were fishing from a small boat, standing on a hilltop, on the beach, or in an open field. Stay away from natural lightning rods like tall isolated trees or telephone poles.
Lightning may strike them and jump to your body, because your body makes a better conductor than dry tree trunks or poles. Get out and away from a lake or the ocean, or any water you might be near.
Water lowers resistance to current, because it is a good conductor of electricity. In open areas, go to a low place such as a ravine or a valley. In a forest, seek shelter in a low area under a thick growth of small trees. If you're in a group in the open, spread out, keeping people several yards apart.
Remember, lightning may strike some miles from the parent cloud. Take precautions even though the thunderstorm is not directly overhead. If you're really isolated…in a level field or prairie… and you feel your hair stand on end lightning may be about to strike you. Drop to your knees, or bend forward and put your hands on your knees. Do not lie flat on the ground. The wet earth can carry lightning.
One last thing, if you want to fly a kite, make sure you do it while the sun is shining. This is Claude Akins, reminding you that safety is your job too.
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