Lightning Phenomenon Essay, Research Paper

Lightning is a natural phenomenon that occurs more often than we think it does.

That streaking flash, followed by a loud rumbling noise, that makes your knees

buckle is very dangerous because of its unpredictable striking force. Being

struck by lightning can be deadly, so the more precautions you take ahead of

time, the safer you are. Lightning not only affects us, it also has a great

impact on our man-made structures and of course, our natural surroundings.

According to Professor Martin Uman, one of the world?s leading lightning

experts: Lightning is an effect of electrification within a thunderstorm. As the

thunderstorm develops, interactions of charged particles produce an intense

electrical field within the cloud. A large positive charge is usually

concentrated in the frozen upper layers of the cloud and a large negative charge

with a smaller positive are is found in the lower portions. (4) This produces

what you see, a lightning flash, which may be ?two or 300 feet long? (25).

The flash itself may be only as wide as a pencil, but because it is extremely

hot, hotter than the sun, its glow appears to be very wide to the human eye.

When lightning pushes the air from its path, it expands it quickly causing a 2

loud explosion, which we call thunder (25). William R. Newcott, part of the

National Geographic Editorial Staff, describes lightning as a ?river of

electricity rushing through a canyon of air. Moving [SIC] fast as 100,000 miles

a second, lightning sears wild and unstoppable through twisted channel as long

as ten miles,? (83) he explained. Lightning, being a natural occurrence, is

very unpredictable which makes it even more dangerous. Martin Uman, director of

the University of Florida?s Lightning Research Laboratory is quoted in Omni

saying, ?A man was talking on a telephone near Gainesville, Florida, when

lightning hit the wires. He died instantly, electrocuted. Three or four people

die that way every year? (Wolkomir 1). It is hard to believe that someone

could just die while using the phone. You never know what will happen next when

it comes to lightning. In fact, even in recent weeks, the state of New Jersey

was hit by lightning causing various dangers. On June 6, 1996, a Sewaren oil

storage tank in Woodbridge, New Jersey, was hit by lightning causing a ferocious

explosion. This fire blazed for an unbelievable 28 hours. According to a staff

report in the Asbury Park Press, two employees attempting to turn off the power

to the area ?suffered electrical burns, and were apparently the only

casualties? (A1). Fortunately, the 3 other tanks did not explode, or a few

more casualties might have resulted. Many people in the area felt and heard the

force of the explosion. Staff writers add, that ?nearby relaxing in his boat

off Cliff Road, Rick Bothwell reported feeling the explosion, even on the water.

I heard a bang and a whoosh. It felt like an explosion out of a tube, he said?

(A1). Inland, nearby neighbors also felt the impact of the explosion. ?The

ground just rumbled from the front of house to the back, said Richard Swallick,

who lives on West Avenue within a few hundred yards of the tank field? (A1).

Experts are very unsure as to what caused this almost disastrous explosion. Also

in this article, ?Elaine Makatura, a spokeswoman for the state department of

Environmental Protection, said it was too early to speculate on what the

environmental impact of the blaze will be? (Staff Report A5). In otherwords,

they don?t know if any harmful chemicals were released during the blaze.

Contaminants in the air could cause a serious problem for neighbors of the gas

store area. After something like this happens, the question that comes to mind,

is can lightning strike twice? Well, according to Bernhard Warner, a staff

writer for the Asbury Park Press, there was a smaller explosion in Linden, New

Jersey, at the Tosco Refining Co. shortly before the one in Woodbridge exploded

(A5). A 4 manager at the refinery would not say whether lightning caused the

fire, because it is still under investigation. It seems the more things, we

learn about nature, the more questions arise. Bob Friant, a spokesman for the

State Department of Community Affairs, is quoted in the Home News and Tribune,

by Sean P. Carr, saying ?we have never been able to conquer Mother Nature, and

we never will be? (B1). He has a real optimistic point of view, huh. Although,

after Carr points out that their are ?thirty-five fuel storage tank

facilities, some of the dozens of tanks each store millions of gallons, dot the

Shore of Central and Northern New Jersey waterways,? (B1) the chance of this

happening again seems likely. Furthermore, Martin Uman continues saying, ?At

any moment, planet wide, about 2,000 thunderstorms are in progress. Each storm

generates a flash every 20 seconds? (4). That is unbelievable. Now I can

understand how there are so many deaths and injuries from people being struck by

lightning. The more thunderstorms, the more chances lightning will strike. If

you give lightning enough chances, it is bound to hit something. In the time it

takes you to read this sentence, lightning has flashed more than 500 times (4),

Uman notes. Facts like that are really amazing to me. How could lightning have

just flashed 500 times? This is because most of the lightning flashes we see are

cloud-to-ground strokes, but they ?compromise only 5 about 20 percent of

lightning? (4). Much more frequent are flashes within clouds. Although

lightning kills many Americans every year, luckily some victims of lightning

hits have lived to tell about the experience. More than a year after lightning

nearly killed him during football practice, Tony Trice still does not want to

talk about it (Newcott 90). According to eyewitnesses in Burtonsville, Maryland:

?They saw a bolt tear a hole in the high schooler?s helmet, burn his jersey,

and blow his shoes off. Toy?s breathing stopped, but he was resuscitated on

the spot? (90). It is unbelievable that this teenager survived after being hit

by one of nature?s unpredictable and deadliest forces. How is it possible

someone could survive after being struck by lightning? Researchers at the

University of Queenland in Australia have traced the path followed by lightning

when it enters a living creature (Dayton 1) and according these researchers:

simulated lightning strikes on anaesthetized sheep showed that lightning first

enters the body orifices and then flow along the blood vessels and cerebrospinal

fluid (CSF) pathways. Since the CSF pathway narrows near the brainstem, this

part is hit hardest, resulting in cardiac and respiratory arrest. Since the

heart can restart itself because of autonomous control, fatality usually results

from respiratory failure. (1) This shows the importance of mouth-to-mouth

resuscitation for lightning victims. 6 I almost witnessed someone being struck

by lightning, but luckily they were not. It was during a soccer tournament that

I was playing in, about nine years ago. All of a sudden, the sun was hidden

behind the clouds and the sky turned a dark purplish color, and then it

downpoured. The sky rumbled with fierce thunder and you could see a couple of

lightning flashes. The tournament was at a high school, so everyone ran to the

school for safety. My father was with me, and as we headed towards the school,

we saw a bright flash of lightning strike a tree about a mile from us and split

it in half, starting a little fire. There were two kids from my team that were

around 50 feet away from the tree and they stood there frozen in fear. My dad

told me to keep going. Then, he went back and had to literally carry them to

safety because they were so scared. Fortunately, no one was any closer to that

tree or they would have been seriously injured or killed that day. Golfers are

prime targets for lightning, because they tend to either stand in open grassy

areas or huddle under trees while playing their game. Also, they use umbrellas

which attract lightning to them because of the metal point on top. In addition,

they hold metal golf clubs which increase their chances of being struck by

lightning. ?A scored pattern on the fifth green at Phalem Park Golf course in

St. Paul Minnesota, defied ground zero when four golfers were injured, one

fatally, by 7 a June 1991 strike? (Newcott 89). I guess that kind of proves

that golf can be a dangerous sport, especially during a thunderstorm. In the

film, Lightning, directed by Linda Gorman, a golf legend, Lee Trevino describes

his experience of being hit by lightning, while playing in a tournament in 1975.

Trevino says: The sensation that I got was, I knew that something was wrong. It

did not just go pow, and it was over. I felt it, and I started shaking. The next

thing I knew, I started to hear a ringing sound in my ear, like a ball-peen

hammer. Then all of a sudden, the next thing I know is look at my feet and now

they are in the air. Now I?m off the ground… its got me all stretched out.

At the time, I guess it stops your heartbeat and I?m gasping for air. The next

thing I knew, is I woke up, and I was all doubled up. My left arm was under my

body… (Lightning) In listening and watching Trevino speak, I could see his

confusion and uncertainty of what was happening to him.. I am sure to this day,

when he is golfing on the green during a thunderstorm, he becomes reminiscent of

his previous experience with lightning. 8 Tall man-made structures have been

known to attract lightning. According to The New Book of Popular Science,

engineers in 1935 set up a device inside the Empire State Building in New York

City, to find out how the building handles being struck by lightning in the

experience. In the film Lightning, one source noted that this famous building is

?struck more than twenty times each year? (Lightning). The special rod at

the top of the building was connected to this device by steel. This would allow

a small amount of the current to safely deflect from the rod to their machines.

Also photographs were taken from a small building to provide proof of this

experiment. They concluded from their studies that it is possible for lightning

to strike twice in the same place (142-143). ?The empire state tower has been

struck by lightning as many as 42 times in one year. It was hit 12 times in a

single storm, and on one memorable occasion, 9 times in 20 minutes,? (142-143)

which proves their studies to be accurate. Yet, after all those strikes, there

was no damage to the building. Nature itself is also affected by lightning.

Lightning is a cause of forest fires, which of course, may be devastatingly

destructive. According to The New Book of Popular Science: It also causes a

great deal of damage as a result of heating and expansion. When it passes

through wood, for example, the 9 enormous current heats the wood and causes it

to expand many many times. As a result, the wood is converted into vapor, and

this adds to the general effect of expansion. (143) It is interesting that

Mother Nature can create lightning, but she can also destroy a part of herself

in the process. All of us must respect lightning. It is very dangerous and it

kills! We do not have to be afraid of it, though. We can protect ourselves from

lightning by observing some basic lightning safety rules. According to my

research, I have learned that one should keep away from conductors such as metal

and water, as well as tall trees. When inside a home avoid using the telephone

except for emergency. You will not see me talking with my friend during a

lightning storm, not after hearing about the man getting electrocuted while

talking on the phone. If outside, with no time to reach a safe building or an

automobile, follow these rules given by Martin Uman: Do not stand underneath a

natural lightning rod such as a tall isolated tree in an open area. Stay away

from wire fences, clotheslines, metal pipes, rails, and other metallic paths

which could carry lightning to you from some distance away. If you are

hopelessly isolated in a level field or prairie and you feel your hair stand on

end, indicating lightning is about to strike, drop to your knees and bend

forward, putting your hands 10 on your knees. Do not lie on the ground!!! (95)

Lightning does not choose its victims or target. It just happens. For the many

fatalities, those people were just in the wrong place at the wrong time. It is

alright to be curious about lightning, but do not be stupid. Take the proper

precautions or you may just be another statistic. Remember you cannot predict

when or where lightning will strike, but you can be aware of the possibility. It

might be well, also to recall this passage from ?Playing with Lightning?,

written by a lightning stalker, Karl B. McEachron, quoted in The New Book of

Popular Science: ?If you heard the thunder, the lightning did not strike you.

If you saw the lightning, it missed you; and if it did strike you, you would

have known it? (144). So, in otherwords, you can not predict when or where

lightning will strike, but you will definitely know it, when it strikes you.

Carr, Sean P. ?Lightning can strike twice at vulnerable gas storage

areas.? The Home News & Tribune 12 June 1996, sec. B: 1. Dayton, Leigh.

?Secrets of a bolt from the blue: How a lightning bolt enters the body.? New

Scientist 18 Dec. 1993: 16. Lightning. Dir. Linda Gorman. Prod. Nova. Boston

Science Unit, 1995. ?Lightning.? The New Book of Popular Science. Vol. 12.

1994. Newcott, William R. ?Lightning: Nature?s High-Voltage Spectacle.?

National Geographic July 1993: 81-103. Staff Report. ?Fire rages after

lightning strikes Sewaren oil storage tanks.? Asbury Park Press 16 June 1996,

sec. A: 1,5. Uman, Martin A. All About Lightning. New York: Dover Publications

Inc, 1986. Warner, Bernhard. ?A second fire strikes oil refinery in Linden.?

Asbury Park Press 12 June 1996, sec A: 5 Wolkomir, Richard. ?Electric Sky.?

Omni March 1994: 50-60.