Time to Play: Farraday Cage or Lightning Rod ?

[Celerity]

The smoking section outside is in a tent. It's firmly bolted to the ground and made to withstand winds. It's got a heater and a few lightbulbs with a motion sensor. It's totally cool.

It's made of steel fence posts lagged to the concrete. The electrical is fed through the pipe and under the concrete to the building. For good measure, it goes to the generator rig.

So imagine a large steel cage, lagged to the ground, with electrical being fed through it.

There is a huge lightning storm.

Should I, or shouldn't I go for a cig ?

 

[efhondakid]

Sure, just wear a foil hat and hold up some golf clubs, and yell "Come on I dare you" Just to let you know that you have a better chance of falling out of your bed in the middle of the night and dying, than being struck by lightning.

 

[Celerity]

You don't know my luck.

 

[Celerity]

yeah, I think it's a faraday cage, so I'm going for a cig.

 

[Celerity]

if I don't post anymore, dacheat gets the CRX.

 

[fionntan]

Just make sure you got some good rubber soles on your shoes...

 

[efhondakid]

You don't know my luck.

Fair enough.

Just make sure you got some good rubber soles on your shoes...

That little bit of rubber int going to do jack.

 

[Sabz5150]

That little bit of rubber int going to do jack.

+1. Electricity arcs 1/4 inch per every 5K volts I believe. Seeing that lightning is an electrical arc several thousand feet long, the rubber isn't gonna do much besides smell funny.

 

[fionntan]

yeah I know just a little sarcasm.

 

[phunky.buddha]

For the size of the tent compared to the size of you, it really isn't going to make much difference if there's just a rod at the tip going to ground or if the whole tent is a true Faraday cage. As long as it's solidly tied to ground and the metallic structure goes above you, the tent has more attractive potential to the lightning than you do.