The Democratic banner. (Mt. Vernon, Ohio) 1898-192?, 1916-07-18
How The Lightning Flash Is
Developed And Born
COST In LIFE and PROPERTY
TWENTY ONE OHIO FARMERS
WILL BE STRUCK DEAD THIS
SUMMER AND MANY MORE IN
JURED-LIeHTNlNe FIRES IN
TOWNS.

TOWNS.
(Bert B. Buckley, State Fire Marshal)
The thunder storm usually begins
to form early on hot day. The moist
air near the earth, heated by the SUMS
rays, expands and rises to the cooler
dry currents which condense the mois-
ture into clouds, which form thunder
heads" The particles of moisture,
through friction, gather charges of
electricity on their surfaces and these
charges are massed in the cloud.
The thunder squall which precedes
rain is an outward rushing Of the wind
in recoil from previous upward pres
sure. Perhaps this is increased by the
cooling of the atmosphere by the sha-
dow of the thundercloud and by the
downward bushing of the raindrops.
The particles of moisture finally hav-
ing grouped themselves in drops too
heavy for the air to sustain, fall as
rain.
Babying Up To II
The electricity forming in the cloud
Is positive and is attracted by the
earth, which is nearly always mega
lively charged by induction. Mega
tive electricity, being fond of it's posi-
tive, climbs to high points to embrace
it and the result is discharge Some
times this induced electricity escapes
30 rapidly from the tip Of lightning
rod that it makes Kissing flame.
The great number of flashes are,
however, from cloud to cloud, because
Of the difference in potential in the
charges they hold. These flashes usu-
ally are several miles long, while
flashes to earth are one to three miles.
SO, the positive electricity seems to
care more for getting even with it's
heavenly neighbors than for uniting
with the negative which is wooing 1t
from tree tops, church spires and
chimneys. Possibly q cloud might be-
come negatively charged. Few thun-
der storms travel more than one hun
dred miles.
Lightning Is Fertilizer
The energy in IA cloud mile across
would fire a bullet weighing a ton
1880 miles.
The electrical discharges during a
storm combine oxygen of the
air with nitrogen, forming a nitrate
which enriches the soil and ozone
which is stimulant to all animal and
vegetable life, although 1t gives sui
phurous smell and often sours milk
that is the basis for the impression
that thunder causes milk to turn"
And, too, the downpour of rain car
ries with 1t to earth millions of float
ing germs whose multiplication in
milk would sour it.
Thunder results from violent vibra-
tions of the air caused by the light
ming which. in breaking down the re-
sistance of the air, creates vacuum
of an extent depending upon the in
tensity of the fash.
Many Town Houses Struck
European scientists have observed
that there are about 100 cloud to earth
strokes to one from earth to cloud, the
most satisfactory observations being
those made ON the rods of the Eiffel
tower of Paris, which stands 1000
feet In the air The branches OF
fash always have the same general
direction as the main flash. One often
fancies he can see the movement of
the bolt from the flash which Is caused
by its heating the air red hot, but
the average flash spends but the six
ty-thousandth of second in travelling
a mile and that is too rapid for the hui
man eye to follow The central part
of the eye Is more sensitive than the
rest of II 80 the impression from the
end of the flash which is directly on
line of sight reaches the brain first, 1t
Is often said that houses in towns are
rarely hit by lightning. The truth is,
one-third as many buildings are struck
in the towns as in the townships
Deaths From Thunderbolts
The reports of state fire marsuals,
in the 2S states which have such an
officer show that three percent Of
all buildings burned are ignited by
lightning stroke.
The census OF 1910 showed i22 per
sons to have been killed by lightning
in that year.
The average number of Ohio farm
ers killed by lightning each summer Is
81; the number seriously Injured is
thrice that
The laws of France and Germany re,
quire all public buildings, from rural