The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1910-07-24

! always struck on the roof first and nearly
always on the very highest point Of the
| roof at that, unless the current leaps IN
= telephone or electric hight wire. This j.
, because. with the enormous voltage 81
! pressure 81 lightning. dry wood u almost
! as good a conductor as copper wire IL to
a weaker current. and lightning. travelling
4 always in the e-asies, paths. quickly l.avs.s
the air. which IL a non-conduCtor to run
down the wooden tmbers Il a budding.
! But even the electrical engineer mu-i
admit that the lightning scar,i p~rson
who seeks the comforting fohs II ~"
family featherh-d whenever the lightning
flashes shows good judgment Dry
feathers are excellent insulating material
and while they would not stop bolt -
lightning u It actually hit the person, vet
they would prevent a dangerous dir
charge from passing through the BODY
in case another portion e the house Was
struck
still other persons think they ar"
ssfer in dark room. Perhaps they fc"
better where they cannot $50 the ha-h"-
and where the thunder cannot H. heard
80 Distinctly hat they are NJ safe
lightning - not afraid Of the dark and
| IL will travel through the darkest rootn
Just a. QUICKLY "a through the lighte-t
In spite 81 the almost universal fear
Z OF lightning. characteristic e birds
fishes and animals as we'll as Il human
beings. ~ II not half a. dangerous as going
out II the house on an icv morning walk
/ ing down the cellar stairs or a hundred
other things We do every dav without =
thought u personal harm More people
ara killed each wear bv falling building
material. more ii. from fright than are
<illed by lightning
The Census Bureau shows only isg
people killed 10y lightning in this entire
country during the wear i0OS. and only
thirty of thes. reopls werp killed IN 'u,,
cities Heat and the SIN killed 7oS iriuy
IN" same year. 2n3 died from cold and freq
ing and I SOS were drowned
Just ~ the moisture in the air CON
denses into raindrops and showers th"
earth. even 80 the particles Of elect ricity
condense and unite until the air. or h''t'.r
speaking. the water in the air becomes
overcharged and we have a shower -
electricity The particles IL moisture
accommodating in tho upper air are free ~
drop 10 earth ~ soon as they conden-.s
and unite until they are too heavy to
foat The particles Of electricity gath
cred in tho upper air. which IL moist
enough to lSn good conductor. ara 81
fcctiveIy insulated from the gro md Nv
layers Of m ore or less dry air which l. tho
best non-conductor 81 electricity IN the
world
This electricity il damned back until
II reaches a pressure snti~ient - h-sak
down this Resistance and dash - -a.th
a single gigantic spark or fash II - tn
gaseous particles composing the atmus-
phere. heated to incandescencs nv the
electrical energy breaking down this re-
sistance. which we $50 and not the sle,.-
tricity itself Electricity cannot he seen
lightning travelling from one cloud
~ another or from a cloud ~ the earth
has no special direction any more than
that 10 takes the easiest path IA the
atmosphere. especiallv In a storm. IL fun
Of whirls eddies and waves like water
hut unlike water being 81 different degrees
Of drvness and conductivitv. the lightning
travels in a rather zigzag path
a glance at anv thunder cloud will
show that the distribution % moisture IL Z
very uneven. parts % the cloud being
gray and parts black Pressure differ
ences in the cloud gradually rise until
someU here the descriptive strength - the
air u reached and "A discharge plSze~ |
equalizing the voltage NJ that point
This causes an increasHsl load IN an
other part Of the same cloud 80 that the F.
flashes continue till the pressure differ /
ences are leVelled down IL acts verv
much like snow sliding ON a roof "A little
SNOW slides from one high point 81 an
other and that in turn becomes too heavy I
and slides. and ~ on until the snow an I
slides OF onto the ground.
Lightning flashes nearly always occur Z
within clouds and very rarely from could .
TO cloud. and still more rarely from a cloud Z
to the ground. II N very probable that ,
discharges from "A cloud IN tho earth take |
place only when a cloud heavy with mois-
ture is carried by a current 81 air part way \
down Ca the ground. evidenced by the
fact that lightning discharges 10 the
ground are nearly always followed by
heavy downpour Of rain
-Thundsrshowers depend upon the
rapid condemnation Of water vapOT IN the /
air. After a spell 81 intensely hot u eath"r4
the air has picked up a great quantity Of |