The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1897-05-23

ought to have gone for the lamp, but
as a matter Of fact, it was not injured
LIGHTNING RODS NO PRoTEC-
TION.
There have been repeated instances
! where lightning has struck roof, al
/ though 1t had rod TO protect it, and
IN some cases the roof has been struck
/ only few feet from the rod itself.
On this theory lightning rods are OF
/ little value. AS DR.. Lodge has abun-
dainty proved lightning may travel
! down a rod TO the earth without doing
| any damage in case the rod happens
TO be in its path, but the stroke Will
seldom turn aside to follow the rod. g.
/ STEEL VAULTS AND SKYSCRAP-
ERS ARE SAFE.
1t must not be supposed from this
that it is impossible TO secure immu-
nifty from injury by lightning. Some
buildings are protected by the very
character Of their construction.
There is no danger from lightning
in a modern tail building" said Mr..
Eddy, though most people think that
they would be more than likely to be
struck because they tower high in the
air. AS a matter of fact, if lightning
struck the roof of a skyscraper the cur
rent would be dissipated in a hundred
directions, and carried down to the
ground through the steel beams with
out doing more than the most super
fetal damage. A safe deposit vault
gives absolute protection as lightning
can't penetrate it"
The most practical protection for an
ordinary building, as Lodge points out,
is in double system of wire netting or
connected rods, one net to be placed
below the other, and both connected
with the ground. Below ground the
rod or wire should be extended to water
or moist earth as this is a much bet
ter conductor than dry ground. A house
completely surrounded by a wire cage
reaching TO the ground would be thor
oughly protected, but in that case it
would be unsafe to go out or in, or TO
touch any part Of the cage during
thunderstorm. 1t might be unpleasant
for man coming home at the COM
mencement of a summer shower to
have to sit outside until il had passed,
and so the cage plan is not likely to
recommend itself to many people.
LIGHTNING MAY KILL WITHOUT
STRIKING
Another peculiar thing about light
ming, according to the experts, is that
a person may be killed or an object set
on fire by lightning without being ac-
tually struck by the current which des-
cends from the clouds. This is due, so
says Mr.. Lodge, TO the ''surging cur
rent which is another characteristic
of the lightning stroke. 1t is a little
difficult for the unframed mind to
understand what is meant by the
"surging current" but the theory of
Mr.. Lodge, that when a lightning
stroke descends to the earth at any
place a part of the current may fly off
at tangent and injure objects at con-
siderable distances, and Mr.. Lodge has
within his knowledge several instances
in which this case has occurred.
THE BEST PROTECTED BUILD
INGS.
The buildings which are nose care
fully guarded against injury by light
ming are probably some of the big
powder magazines. Some of these are
almost covered with a network of con-
Meeting rods and wires. These run
down to the earth on all sides of the
building, are Joined below ground and l
lead away to a considerable distance,
where the rod terminates in moist
earth. For many years the hotel de
Vile at Brussels was looked upon as
the most carefully protected building in
the world, the subject being a hobby |
with the proprietor of the hotel. The
roof Of the great building looked like |
an ancient barbican with its dozens of |
minaret points jutting up. These rods |
were all connected and grounded in /
the most scientific manner, but it is a |
fact that the hotel was struck by light /
ming at least once in spite of its Ella
borate protection.
A TOY THUNDER CLOUD.
To illustrate the action of lightning,