Patent ID: 9523785
Filing Date: 2016-12-20
CPC Classification: G01R,G01V

Claim Text:
1. A method for determining the electrical resistance of a geological volume of material that has received a first lightning strike, comprising obtaining a first set of lightning parameters including an indicium of the current of the first lightning strike at a first initial time and an indicium of the current of the first lightning strike at a first decay time subsequent to the first initial time, and making a first inference of the resistance, at least in part, by employing the first set of lightning parameters in a circuit approximation of a natural system in which a cloud develops a negative charge relative to the earth defining a voltage therebetween, the natural system including an atmosphere between the cloud and the earth in which no current flows until the voltage becomes high enough to produce a lightning strike, the circuit comprising first, second, and third nodes representing, respectively, the cloud, a surface of the geological volume of material that receives the lightning strike, and an earth ground, a capacitor coupled between the first and second nodes representing electrical charge storage in the cloud and the earth, and a resistor coupled between the second and third nodes representing said resistance.