ARE YOU THUNDER-SHY?

Auckland Star, Volume LXV, Issue 267, 10 November 1934, Page 1 (Supplement)

ARE YOU THUNDER-SHY?

Groundless fears that make some of us cowards

IT is a terrible sliamc to learn that in these days of knowledge there are still children who scream with fright when a thunderstorm is in progress. Boys and girls who are old enough to know better run and hide themselves or if in bed pull the blankets over their heads and break into a fresh frenzy of panic with every crash of thunder. And it is all so silly, because many seconds before the thunder is heard the danger (if indeed there was any) has ceased to exist. Thunder is the report or echo of the flash of lightning. Whilst under certain circumstances the lightning may cause damage, positively no harm can come as the result of" the thunder. It is like feeling fear at the report of a rifle, the bullet from which has almost reached its mark before we see the smoke or hear the report. But, on the other hand, we should be on our guard against lightning, for there may be danger in a thunderstorm from the lightning flash, and those people who, out of sheer bravado, expose themselves unnecessarily to the lightning during a storm are acting very foolishly. It is always useful to know what to do in a thunderstorm. In the old days people used to ring the church bells as hard as they could, in the belief that the sound would charm away the thunder and lightning, but this, of course, was merely a superstition. First of all, if we are indoors, the best thing to do is to keep away from those tilings that are good conductors of electricity, and might conduct it to us. Heated air, smoke, and soot are good conductors, and so also are metal grates, fenders, and firo irons. Therefore we should not stand near the fireplace. It is wise also to keep away from the window, because of its iron bolts and fastenings. Mirrors are good conductors, because of the quicksilver on their backs. The safest part of a room during a thunder/ storm is the middle, and it is always good to stand on a thick hearthrug if the lightning is very powerful, as a dry rug, being a bad conductor of electricity, would insulate the body—that is, prevent the electricity passing to it. People who run to cupboards against the walls are doing a foolish tiling. The middle storey of a house is safer than the cellar or the top of a house. _ , ■ If we are out of doors, there are also some wise precautions we can take. When riding in a train or omnibus or carriage it is best to sit up as straight as possible, and not lean back, as the electricity might pass through the sides or back of the vehicle. If we are out walking, it is foolish to go and take shelter under a tree; in fact, it is unwise in a thunderstorm to stand near any tall object which is a poor of electricity. As the human body is a good conductor, if the lightning struck the tall object it might pass through our body in preference to the object, owing to the good conducting properties of our body. It is not

dangerous to stand near a lightning conductor, as some people think, for that is a better conductor than the human body, and so the electricity would not leave the metal, but would pass down it in preference to anything else. To stand under a tree is the worst thing we can possibly do in a thunderstorm. No objects are struck so often as trees, and some kinds are more liable to be struck than others, although probably no kind of tree is free from the danger. It is wise to remember when out in a storm to keep away from crowds of people and from groups of animals, as it is said that the ascending column of warm vapour from the breathing of so many living creatures is liable to conduct the electricity to the place from which the column rises. Now that we have spoken of precautions which may he taken by any sensible boy or girl, let us see what lightning really is and how it is caused. Then, because we understand it, perhaps we will fear it less. The whole earth and the atmosphere which surrounds it may be looked upon as a giant storage battery of static electricity; like all storage batteries, it has a limit to the electricity which it can contain, and when this limit is reached and _____ ™™™« p agse( j £ t discharges some of its load in the form o£ lightning. How this -rrercharging takes place and what brings about the sudden discharge during a storm is very interesting. When raindrops are very large they break up, in falling, into smaller drops. This breaking-up. causes a separation of the positive and negative electricity on the surface of the drops. When similarly charged drops run together again the electric energy is greatly increased. If the charge becomes too great for the drops to bear, an electric current passes from the cloud in which the rain is forming to another cloud, or to the earth. The air in the path of this current is suddenly heated to a white heat; hence the blinding flash. On big buildings you may see lightning conductors — a pointed metal rod which is placed on the highest part of the building. This serves two purposes; in the first place, as a ' storm gathers it "absorbs" electricity that is in the surrounding air and conducts it safely to the ground, thus preventing an accumulation which would cause a discharge. This, as you see, is solely preventive in character, but nevertheless constitutes its ereatest work. Its second purpose is to safely convey to earth any discharge does take place in the vicinity. Apart from taking the-precautions previously mentioned, by far the most sensible thing to do is to recollect that of the thousands of thunderstorms that happen in every part of the world every year, very, very few do any damage at all; moreover, it is exceedingly rare that human life is endangered. Although life has been lost as the indirect result of lightning, ,it is claimed that no person has ever been directly struck. New Zealand is fortunate that the electrical storms it does experience are of a nature that is not really dangerous. So let's be sensible and manly when the nest storm comes our way, and, whilst we may take precautions, yet realise that we ourselves are in no danger other than the result of our own foolish thoughts.