Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1904-12-17
FORCE OF LIGHTNING.
Some of the Feats Performed by the
Mystic Fluid.

Mystic Fluid.
The explosive force of lightning act
| ing on dead wood is not, as a rule, so
great as when living trees are struck,
though Sir William shows that 1.-The
mastS of ships of the line, three feet in
diameter and 40 feet long, bound with
hoops of iron half IN inch thick and
five inches wide, the whole weighing
about Is tons, have been in many in
| stances torn asunder and the hoops Of
| iron scattered about the decks 1t
will be found. as a rule. that trees are
struck by lightning far more often than
are buildings, even if the trees and
buildings are close together. This is
I partly because the trees are higher.
! But there must probably be some I'M
known reason not only for the fire.
4; quency with which trees are struck, but
! for the recurrence of such shocks in the
i case of particular tree or trees in the
same locality. The commonest form Of
, injury is that the current passes down
the bark of the tree, stripping off the
| band, wider or narrower, from top to
bottom. Sometimes on an oak two or
three Of these lightning marks are
seen, evidently caused at different
times.
| There, must be something in the form
or situation or earth below the trees
which endanger it.. An instance is
quoted in Mr.. Ander;on's descriptive
! book Oh the Church Of st. Mary in
| Genoa, which was frequently struck by
i lightning, sometimes as often as twice
year. 1t was noticed that the electric
force always followed the same track.
1t was discovered later that the walls
We're clamped with iron, and that the
! lightning had followed the patch in
which the metal offered the greatest
continuity, destroying the zone be-
. tween.
| If the ground below the trees Or
, building is hard and dry, the contact
/ with the earth, in which the lightning
, expands its force and disrerses, is diff
| cult. and the destruction of the object
/ struck is likely to result. This NAV
explain the frequency with which a
! "blasted' tree is Seen extending it's
dead arms on the summit of some
rocky cliff or peak. The ground below
1t IS dry and does not easily lead away
! the current into the earth.
! At the same time thunderclouds I'M
doubtedly tend to discharge. or perhaps
1t would be safer to say that the trans
mission from the cloud to the earth
more frequently takes place. near
pieces Of water and along the courses
of rivers than elsewhere.
In park in one of the eastern colIn-
ties of England there is a large lake.
The park contains more trees struck
by lightning than the whole of the rest
of the estate. Some miles away is
road called locally the lightning
road" from the frequency with which
accidents have occurred there either to
trees. horses. cattle or passengers. In
this park there recently occurred an
instance of the explosive effect in GER
tain circumstances not perfectly
known
very tall spruce, probably 100 feet
high. was 'exploded' from top to bot
tom into pieces the size of the wood
used in making chairs. Every shred
of bark was stripped from them, and
the wood looked as if it had been
shredded UP for firing. A similar in
StdISt otCuiIcu Soilic ScdiS dSo WIiCA
an oak in the grove below the foot of
the White lodge in Richmond park ex-
ploded under lightning shock. The
bark flew off and simply disappeared
in small patches. and the rest of the
tree was shattered into white frag-
ments.
In these cases it is probable that the
current sets up such a tremendous heat
that all the sap in the tree is convert
ed into superheated steam, which ex-
plodes. The greater the heat the more
of the cells in which moisture lies are
exploded and the greater the destruc-
ton of the tissues of the tree. AS
there is most moisture between the
bark and the trunk the first and great
est explosion takes place there, in
stantly driving the bark away into
space. Frequently the explosion only
takes place at that point. e..
AS Sir Hiram Maxim pointed out at
ter the great explosion Of Mount PeIee,
a very similar method is now used by
the American manufacturers of wood
pulp. The logs Of fir are placed in a
strong chamber. and there subjected
to the action of super-he3ted steam
until the water in every cell is con-.
verified into explosive gas. THE cham
her il. then opened and the log ex-
Modes. converting itself d INTO wood
powder.