Lightning, IPods Dangerous Mix

[John Hudson]

Interesting story on what happens with lightning strike victims who have entertainment devices/cell phones next to their head at the moment of the strike.

See it here: http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/9480106/detail.html


John
www.skywatch7.com

 

[Karen Politte]

No kidding. I'd hate to have those small little earbuds stuck in my ears when the fire from the sky comes crackling up them...

Truthfully, I've just found out this week that lightning and anything electronic don't really mix very well.

Storms with copious amounts of CGs always make me very leery of working corded telephones all the time at my office, as it's my full-time job.

KL

 

[scott r currens]

Do people without IPods or cell phones really do any better when they are struck?

It seems like a silly warning. Somehow I think the best advice for someone outside during a thunderstorm is to go indoors. Telling people to put away the IPod so they don't get injured as badly seems like a waist of breath.

 

[Jerry Prsha]

Yeah.. A year or two ago some other country issued a warning not to use cell phone in a storm for fear of a lightning strike.. As if the little bit of metal in the phone was going to add to the danger.

It makes you wonder how humans have progressed this far...

 

[David Drummond]

That's about as bad as that whole "cell phones will cause an explosion while fueling your car" myth.

 

[Tarmo Tanilsoo]

I guess that this is a job for Mythbusters...

 

[Marko Korosec]

I have heard this many times...that its dangerous talking by phone during the thunderstorm...not sure if its only a rumor or is there a proof for a bigger risk ti get hit. Anyone know for some researches about this?

I remember one guy was killed awhile ago here...they found his phone melted close to him, he was hit by lightning. They suspected the reason might be he was talking on the phone while strike hit him...

 

[Tarmo Tanilsoo]

Well, I definitely don't rule out that it is dangerous to talk with a landline telephone during a thunderstorm. In fact, EMHI highly discourages it in their severe weather advice.

 

[Dan Robinson]

The guy got hit because he was outside exactly where where lightning was going to hit anyway, not because of his lawn mower or iPod.

Phone lines and headphone cables (and tripods, cameras and car antennas, for the record) won't increase your risk of getting hit by lightning. There is the question of whether the presence of headphones will help or hurt you if you do get hit. I think these stories are missing the fact that you're going to have severe burns and potentially fatal injuries either way, if you are hit directly by lightning. There is no evidence that having a wire running down your side will cause greater burns or injury. In fact, the headphone cable could actually help you by diverting the bulk of the lightning current around your upper body and away from your heart, like a miniature lightning protection system - although the wire will still be 'overloaded' (likely vaporizing) and cause severe burns. If the wire is not there, the channel is in direct contact with your skin all the way down, with a potent percentage of current also running through your body. Either way you are going to be in bad shape. Better to just not get struck in the first place.

These types of articles always miss the point that mitigating the risk of a lightning strike has everything to do with not being outside where lightning can hit you in the first place. If you are hit directly, doing little things like wearing/not wearing headphones, talking on a cell phone, crouching down, etc are not going to make much difference in your chances of surviving. The main point is to not get hit in the first place - which is done by getting yourself out of the way of all of the places lightning can strike.

It's like telling people to wear kneepads and a helmet to avoid getting killed by a speeding train. The real solution is to just not walk on the tracks when one is coming!

 

[David Drummond]

Well, I definitely don't rule out that it is dangerous to talk with a landline telephone during a thunderstorm. In fact, EMHI highly discourages it in their severe weather advice.

This is more likely true on older phones where there is still a physical connection to the handset. Here in the states, it's becoming harder and harder to find a place with a phone that is still connected by cord. EVERYTHING is going wireless these days, even landline phones.

 

[Tim Samaras]

Dan hit it on the 'head'

In fact, the headphone cable could actually help you by diverting the bulk of the lightning current around your upper body and away from your heart, like a miniature lightning protection system

There was a case in CO a few years ago where a young man got hit with lightning while using an Ipod...and the experts agree...that if he was NOT wearing the device, he would have been killed.

Either way...one shouldn't even be in the 'strike zone' if one has to give thought to either pulling on..or off the Ipod during the storm..

I personally would be wearing a full metal helmet so that the Gov't won't be intercepting my brain waves..



Tim

 

[Ryan Pfeifer]

While it is best to avoid getting caught under a thunderstorm it can still happen, which is the only time this iPod advice matters. Even if iPods do direct current along a safer route that you skin a more certain way to help keep the current away from your insides is to be wet. However, the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) does not recommend you actively try to get wet if you are caught in a thunderstorm because even the protection that provides is minimal. Given this, recommendations one way or another for iPods seem silly for trying to minimize your risk of injury. However, I have to disagree with Dan:

If you are hit directly, doing little things like wearing/not wearing headphones, talking on a cell phone, crouching down, etc are not going to make much difference in your chances of surviving.

There are multipule, significant ways to increase your chances of survival if you can't take shelter and 'crouching down' is one of the best ways in most circumstances. In fact, according the NOLS Backcountry Lightning Safety Guidelines nobody has ever died from being struck by lightning while in the 'lightning position'.

 

[Dan Robinson]

From the NOLS Backcountry Lightning Safety Guidelines:

When at risk, assume the lightning position. Squat (or sit) and ball up so you are as low as possible without getting prone. Wrap your arms around your legs. Close your eyes. Keep your feet together. If you have any insulated objects handy, like a foam pad or a soft pack full of clothes, sit on them. Avoid backpacks with frames since the frame may concentrate current. Don't touch metallic objects like ice axes, crampons, tent poles, or jewelry.

No disrespect to the NOLS, but this paragraph is derived mostly from the 'traditional' lightning safety advice that is based on, at best, anecdotal and folkloric evidence. Today we know much more about lightning than when the traditional advice set was first written, but this advice has unfortunately not been updated to reflect the new findings. Most media articles and sources such as NOLS quote these tips, therefore reinforcing their perceived credibility - but some of them are scientifically inaccurate. For instance, small metal objects like earrings and axes are completely inconsequential to a lightning channel path. Also, the 'lightning position' is something that was suggested to work in theory. I am not aware of any data on direct strike victims that specifies what position they were in when hit, or whether this position has actually been verified to protect a person in the event of a direct strike.

Getting hit directly by lightning is like having an anvil dropped on your head from 300 feet up. If it happens, all bets are off as far as if the person survives or not, regardless of metal on your person, type of clothing, or body position. A direct strike is usually fatal (most lightning injuries are not from direct hits), but for those who have survived, there is no consistency as far as what they were doing at the time, what objects were surrounding them or what they were wearing. We just don't have any solid data to suggest that someone in the direct line of fire of lightning has any real chance of stopping the inevitable.

Any advice that suggests a person out in the open with no shelter can do anything to reduce the risk of a strike (other than dragging along a personal Faraday cage) doesn't produce anything but a false sense of security. The problem there is that a person who could have made it to shelter may instead decide to stay outside, deciding to either put on/take off his/her iPod/umbrella/earrings/etc because they believe it is sufficient to increase their level of protection - when in reality it does nothing.

 

[scott r currens]

Any advice that suggests a person out in the open with no shelter can do anything to reduce the risk of a strike (other than dragging along a personal Faraday cage) doesn't produce anything but a false sense of security. The problem there is that a person who could have made it to shelter may instead decide to stay outside, deciding to either put on/take off his/her iPod/umbrella/earrings/etc because they believe it is sufficient to increase their level of protection - when in reality it does nothing.

It reminds me of the old advice about opening windows to keep your home from exploding during a tornado. People still ask me about this. If a tornado wants your windows open don't worry, it doesn't need your help opening them.

 

[Ryan Pfeifer]

Not to beat a dead horse, but I still disagree. True, this advice is probably best not mentioned to the average person, but I think it can be valuable to the well educated person who would take all the precautions to avoid being in a situation where this would actually be pertainent. One thing to clear up is that NOLS does not suggest that small metal objects channel the lightning path, they suggest their removal to avoid burns. If one reads the whole guide I think they would find the advice is very much so based on current scientific knowledge and the little data there is on people being struck by lightning. For example, most injuries are from ground current. Ground current comes from the large potential difference created in the ground near the strike point. Having the feet together and insulated limits the potential difference experienced across them. Another example is the advice to crouch. This is not only to make you a slightly shorter target. Lightning creates an electrostatic field change out to 30m from the ground and crouching minimizes the field change across your body. Also, I miss spoke earlier, according to NOLS not only has nobody died in the lightning position, nobody has been known to be injured in this position. Of course data is sparse and death and injury could have easily occured and are still very possible, but somewhat less likely.

The whole guide can be read here:
http://www.nols.edu/resources/research/pdfs/lightningsafetyguideline.pdf