Hey everyone!
I'm researching a story and I have a question that I can't find the answer to. Does a modern metal hull ship have anything to fear from even a bad lighting storm at sea? What I can find suggests no real problems. The metal hull and purposely designed systems channel the lightning away into the sea just as a lightning rod protects a house by grounding it. Even wooden ships had systems to protect them as early as the mid 1800's.
Perhaps if someone was standing right at the strike site, yes they would be endangered, but since lightning usual strikes the highest point, they would have to be aware of the danger.
Does this sound right?
Hugs!
Grover
Comments
Lightening the way.......
Yeppers!!!!!!!! Planes also have little to fear from the big Zzzzzzzzzzap.
planes
Most of the time that is true but a plane is designed to take one hit maybe two depending what is hit. If it hits an engine then the engine is toast. I was on an Eastern jet in the 80's and lightning hit the jet I was on and knocked out the air conditioning. Rest of the flight was very uncomfortable since everybody was wearing heavy clothing due to flying into Chicago.
Hugs,
Jenna From FL
Moderator/Editor
TopShelf BigCloset
Hugs,
Jenna From FL
Moderator/Editor
TopShelf BigCloset
It is a long road ahead but I will finally become who I should be.
As far as lightning strikes on planes ...
Back at the dawn of time ( 1967) we were flying through a typhoon from Manila to Okinawa when were were stuck by lightning.
The fiberglass forward radome was blasted off, all four corners or the wingtips and the MAD, (Magnetic Anomaly Detector), boom stinger also had fiberglass covers, and the fiberglass was blasted off.
Why? The lightning entered and/or exited through the screws that held the covers in place as they stuck out from the frame by almost 1/4 inch through teh non-conducting fiberglass, forming several dozen 'highest' points.
After we landed, we had to drill out every screw, because they had been welded in place, re-tap the holes oversize, and ever after that, the covers needed to be reamed out and non-standard screws had to be used.
Other than that, nothing was damaged. But it took many hours ( 2 days x 18 crew members, plus 5 or 6 passengers almost 20 hours each ) to fix it. As we were not based where we landed, our crew and joy riding passengers had to do all the work, though we were able to get parts from spares for the squadron at the base.
The forward radome, by the way, was about 6 feet in diameter where it joined the fuselage and stuck forward about 5 feet.
The radar antenna it covered was not damaged even after being out in the wind the last 350 miles.
Inside, we did not feel a thing, and not even the circuit breakers had to be reset. The frame and skin handled everything.
Holly
It's nice to be important, but it's more important to be nice.
Holly
lightning
This is true for normal lightning but for something such as an electrical storm the lightning will sometimes skip after hits the initial point so it best not to be on the open deck. Also the human body is a great conductor which can interfere with e lighting rod if too close or you close to the strike point. One such case I was in my laundry room during a thunder storm retrieving clothes and lightning hit my DSS Dish and I felt a real nice shock that made my hair stand up.
Hugs,
Jenna From FL
Moderator/Editor
TopShelf BigCloset
Hugs,
Jenna From FL
Moderator/Editor
TopShelf BigCloset
It is a long road ahead but I will finally become who I should be.
Lightning
And Contrary to popular belief. Lightning strikes from Ground up. not Sky down.
other forms of lightning
there is also what is called ball lightning or meteor lightning which not very common. It is usually caused by environmental conditions.
excellent info on lightning: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lightning
Hugs,
Jenna From FL
Moderator/Editor
TopShelf BigCloset
Hugs,
Jenna From FL
Moderator/Editor
TopShelf BigCloset
It is a long road ahead but I will finally become who I should be.
Actually
There are three styles of lightning: Cloud to Ground, Ground to Cloud and Cloud to Cloud. If you need me to find a "lerned" reference to prove this to you, I can. However I was a member of the American Meterological Society & a working forecaster back in the '80s, and still have a few contacts.
Lightning and Ships
Hi Grover
If you haven't seen this webpage: Boating-Lightning Protection from the National Ag Safety Database, then it's definitely worth a look.
The relevant bit is:
There is no such thing as lightning-proof boats, only lightning-protected boats. All-metal ships are rarely damaged, and injuries or deaths are uncommon. These ships are frequently struck, but the high conductivity of the large quantities of metal, with hundreds of square yards of hull in direct contact with the water, causes rapid dissipation of the electrical charge.
I note the importance of not fishing in a lightning storm.
Protected Ships
Bike Resources
Also there is, for a spectator
An interesting optical effect, called the Black Lightning. Basically, after some too many lightnings your light-sensitive cells in the eyes exhaust themselves and you begin seeing afterimages.
Faraway
Big Closet Top Shelf
Where you can fool around like you want to and most you get is some bemused good ribbing!
Faraway
Big Closet Top Shelf
Where you can fool around like you want to and most you get is some bemused good ribbing!
Lightning
I've been on ships that were hit by lightning. At sea, the only reason we knew we were struck was because the watch on the bridge saw it. Once when tied to the dock and on shore power, the ship I was on was hit by lightning and it tripped the shore power breaker out on the dock. I reset the breaker and everything was alright. No damage whatsoever.
Mr. Ram
Faraday cage
An all-metal ship would be a closed conductor, so all of the charge would go to the outside. That could be a problem for someone on the outside of the ship, like if they were on the deck, but it wouldn't be an issue for anyone inside.
It's not so much the
highest point that acts as the locus of the strike (whether from cloud-to-ground or ground-to-cloud), but the point that has the highest relative charge. Generally, yes, this IS the highest point. But, it can be the lightening rod on a house despite surrounding trees that are higher. So, it's a combination of proximity and proximity to ground - whether that be land or ocean.
Annette
Wow! What a response!
So I was more or less correct. Modern metal ships are mostly okay as long one doesn't expose themselves on deck in my make believe 'bad lightning' storm. That'll do it!
Thanks for the infor!
Hugs!
Grover
lightning
On a metal hulled ship - no problem unless you are standing at the very highest point and your body projects beyond that point. On a fiberglass or wooden hull it could be quite a different story.
Occasionally ...
... we've been caught out sailing a wooden or 'glass hulled dinghy in electrical storms, always on inland reservoirs or lakes. We were never affected and neither was anyone else in the racing fleet but I was acutely conscious of that pointed aluminium mast and stainless steel rigging sitting up there as the highest point for some distance round. Strangely I don't recall anyone retiring we just carried on racing - foolish? Perhaps.
Robi
magnetic pulse
lightning striking, for example, the mast of an all metal ship, generates a magnetic pulse. that in turn can induce voltage spikes into electric system and cables for radio and radar antenna. and of course the gadgets themselves.
sometimes there's damage, sometimes there's none.
lightning protection and electrical systems on wood and fibre hulls have come a long way, too.
Wooden hulls....
There are a few constants in severe lightning storms: High seas, with spray drenching the rigging of the sailing boat, copper plates to prevent terero worm damage, and the sea, which is a perfect electrical earth.
All of the above, combined with the "pointy" nature of the ship, and its height "above ground", leads to frequent lightning strikes, and other anomalous phenomena, such as "ball lightning".
You can read of such in logbooks, for example, in the Plymouth and Portsmouth archives.
Regards,
Chris.
On US Navy ships...
Being an old Navy girl, I can tell you that all modern US Navy vessels have lightning rods just aft of their highest antenna (which is usually the TACAN antenna) on the mast. I would assume that commercial vessels do as well. It would probably be up to the owner of a private vessel, but I would think that it would still be standard equipment on most.
Hugs,
Kaho
http://dv8nekomimi.livejournal.com/
Hugs,
Kaho
http://fox-tales.net/
Kaho
You bet that the ship I have in mind would be equipped with a lot of electronics and yes would have a lightning rod as well as other systems to protect their investment. It seems that just as long as the crew is careful about going out on deck they'll be mostly safe. Some small chances for blown fuses and other electrical mishaps given the intensity I foresee.
Thanks again for all the information everyone!
Hugs!
Grover
Strike 1 2 3 n
you tube of a man in a birdcage and lightning
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4WxD4PEBinQ&feature=related