WTF was THAT ?!

[westom1]

A nearby lightning strike (ie to a distant tree) would have been a direct s trike to garden party guests. That current was connecting to earthborne ch arges maybe 3 kilometers away. Follow the current. A best path would be u p one leg and down another. Or up a table, into an arm, and down via legs. Either way, those guests suffered by being in the path of that lightning current.

Same applies to damaged electronics. What was the incoming and outgoing pat h? That explains why some appliances are not damage. And why robust prote ction in other appliances (ie laptop) was overwhelmed - laptop damaged.

Damage is always about how a current connects from cloud to distant charges . Protection from direct lightning strikes has been routine for over 100 y ears. That means learning about devices (called surge protectors) that act ually claim such protection - without failing. And means learning why near zero (plug-in) protectors do not even claim to protect from surges that ca n overwhelm robust protection already inside all appliances.

Protection is always about how that current connects a cloud to earth. Pro tection is always about where hundreds of thousands of joules harmlessly di ssipate. Easily accomplished when well proven science (and that means numb ers) is learned. Unfortunately many even forget what Ben Franklin demonstr ated in 1752.

What Franklin did to protect a structure is also what is done to protect ro bust internal protection inside appliances. Protection from direct lightni ng strikes has been routine for over 100 years.

Unfortunately, any device that would 'block' or 'absorb' a destructive surg e (ie a plug-in device) should be considered a scam. Those are for transie nts typically too small to overwhelm protection already inside appliances.

[westom1]

Effective protection from direct lightning strikes costs about one quid per protected appliance. Even underground wiring needs that protection. For t he same reason people were 'surged' when a distant lightning strike conduct ing in earth also shocked guests at a garden party. Protection is always a bout how that current passes through - garden party guests or appliances.

Protection of appliances means that current is not inside hunting for earth ground destructively via appliances. Protection from direct strikes is qui te inexpensive, well proven, and unknown to some who only deny.

[charles]

But, if it's the tv aerial or the telephone line that's struck, it would be much use

I lost a modem in the "dial-up" days.

[Bob Eager]

See, look....look now what you've done, invoking the loony w_tom.

[Bob Eager]

Oh God.

[Steve Walker]

I know two people who have been thrown across the room by an exploding, wired, landline phone due to nearby lightning strikes. In one case they were particularly lucky, as not only did the phone and wiring explode, but the sink next to it was blown off the wall.

[Mike Tomlinson]

En el artículo , Bob Eager escribió:

But did you really have to quote his useless, uninformed, scaremongering drivel in full when I had him killfiled every which way to Sunday?

[Mike Tomlinson]

En el artículo , Bob Eager escribió:

Yes. Proof that a Google Alert for "surge protection" will invoke the clueless w_twat.

Don't quote his drivel in full, please, there's a good chap.

[Bob Eager]

You already said that. Once was enough.

[T i m]

Well, maybe Bob has taken onboard the request but chosen to ignore it, as he has every right to do and as I would do in the case of Tomlinson. After all, Tomlinson has not got much else going on in his life except tweaking and tuning his killfiles so Bob is just helping him out with his hobby. ;-)

Cheers, T i m

[Tim Streater]

While I agree with some of what you say, quoting an entire post to no purpose except to add a line at the end just gets on people's t*ts.

[T i m]

Quite and in some (special) cases I should imagine that's a perfectly satisfactory (and well deserved) outcome.

Cheers, T i m

[The Natural Philosopher]

You are more likely to get a strike on the telephone line...

[damduck-egg]

Thought he had died off, Perhaps there was something in using Lightning to resurrect the dead like in Frankenstein movies after all.

G.Harman

[Bob Eager]

I just didn't see either of his posts here until I had done both of mine.

[T i m]

Nice reply. ;-)

Cheers, T i m

[westom1]

Intelligence still has not overwhelmed a cesspool of kooks. Routine are di rect lightning strikes without damage - no matter how viciously that realit y is insulted. A solution - proven by over 100 years of science and experie nce - costs about one quid per protected appliance. Any protector that doe s not protect from destructive surges (including direct lightning strikes) and remain functional is best called a scam. Only the naive still insist t hat nothing can protect from direct lightning strikes.

BT exchanges suffer about 100 surges with each storm. How often is your to wn without phones for four days to replace a surge damaged computer? Never ? What BT does to routinely protect their equipment is also what every hom eowner installs to protect from a transient that occurs once every seven ye ars - less often in the UK.

The nasty and emotional will post personal attacks when technical reality c annot be disputed. Having exposed Tomlinson, et al as technically naive, t hey will only post insults. Donald Trump has also proven that ignorance and ego is masked by insults and lies. In every facility that cannot have dama ge, even direct lightning strikes do not cause damage. Without any foolish , massive and large 'scam' box that he worships.

Protection of guests in a garden party also demonstrate why underground wir es offer little effective protection from surges. Once a surge is inside a building (or in legs of party guests), it goes hunting for a connection to distant earthborn charges destructively. A surge can be incoming to every thing. But selects one or some to best connection to earth. So only some a ppliances get damaged even though a surge was incoming to all.

None suffer damage when well proven protection is earthed at the service en trance - where wires enter a building. This superior solution is also a le ast expensive one.

Safety ground to a laptop is not protection. Protection is always about ea rthing a surge current (not appliance) so that a current does not go huntin g for earth destructively via appliances. So that hundreds of thousands of joules dissipate harmlessly outside. Protection from direct lightning stri kes was done that way even 100 years ago. Well proven science is not chall enged by naysayers who prove their manhood by posting insults.

Others who have asked to learn should appreciate it is so easily averted th at surge damage is considered traceable to a human mistake. As demonstrate d by many here who insult to deny reality. Protection is always about wher e hundreds of thousands of joules are harmlessly absorbed - so that applian ces or guests at a garden party need not be harmed by lightning.

Watch the children deny using more insults.

[westom]

Your telco switching center (exchange) suffers about 100 surges with each thunderstorm. How often is your town without phone service for four days while they replace that computer? Never. Because direct lightning strikes without damage is routine. Damage exists when a human remains in denial.

Cell phone towers are routinely struck without damage.

Electronics atop the Empire State Building suffer 23 direct strike annually - without damage. Best protection from direct lightning strikes was originally developed for munitions dumps. Because direct lightning strikes only cause damage (or explosions) when a human makes a mistake or fails to learn this stuff. Protection from direct lightning strikes has been routine for over 100 years. And is not found in obscenely profitable, magic boxes adjacent to appliances.

Unfortunately today, many foolishly know a person who demeans must be smarter - maybe should be president. Facts and reality are only provided by those who are belittled and attacked.

Damage from lightning has been so easily averted as to be considered a human mistake. Wasting bandwidth with insults does not change reality.

[whisky-dave]

Lightning strikes do take out equpiment though, a friend had their TV, DVD player, telephone and set top box detroyed by lightning. Quite a few neighbours had the same same the engineer told them that they'd replaced 5 set top boxes that afternoon.

[tony sayer]

Can you demonstrate how a "quid an appliance" protects from lightning discharges please?.

And how you actually do that?.

And just how far away was this hit that shocked the party guests?.

And also how do you protect underground cabling too?.