![]() ![]() ![]() By then pressing blank sheets of paper onto these patterns, Lichtenberg was able to transfer and record these images, thereby discovering the basic principle of modern Xerography. After discharging a high voltage point to the surface of an insulator, he recorded the resulting radial patterns in fixed dust. In 1777, Lichtenberg built a large electrophorus to generate high voltage static electricity through induction. When they were first discovered, it was thought that their characteristic shapes might help to reveal the nature of positive and negative electric “fluids”. They are named after the German physicist Georg Christoph Lichtenberg, who originally discovered and studied them. Lichtenberg figures are branching electric discharges that sometimes appear on the surface or the interior of insulating materials. The patterns created are known to be examples of fractals. Sometimes, the electrical discharge can leave a tattoo-like marking or scar known as a Lichtenberg figure. ![]() And, sometimes, you don't even need to be touching something to get struck, as the New York man can attest to.Being struck by lightning is a dangerous and scary experience and can even be fatal. It’s impractical to avoid all electronics every time there’s a thunderstorm, but there really is a risk to using a computer or sit in front of a plugged-in television while lightning strikes outside. (Cordless phones are fine and cell phones are, too, as long as they're not attached to a plugged-in charging cable.) Lightning can even travel through concrete-in fact, that's how they believe it got into the auto shop in Rochester-or metal bars and wires in floors and walls. It's common for lightning to travel through a telephone landline to any receiver that's hooked up to the wall. Electricity can travel through pipes and water to zap anyone washing their hands, doing the dishes, or taking a shower. The surge of electricity can destroy anything plugged into an electrical outlet, potentially electrocuting you in the process and possibly even starting a fire. Once inside, it can wreak havoc on just about everything of value you own. Most of the time it finds its way straight into the ground with little more than a loud jolt and maybe a power outage, but sometimes the lightning will make its way indoors. A bolt of lightning will find every nook and cranny it can wiggle its way through on its way to total discharge. (Well, most of us don't, anyway.) Our homes are connected to the outside world through pipes, electrical wires, telephone lines, and just about anything on the outside of the house that could provide electricity with a path indoors. We don't live in hermetically sealed bubbles. Spending more time indoors has a lot to do with the increase in lightning safety, but the comfort of our home or office isn't as foolproof as we choose to believe. This statistic has steadily declined almost every year to just one or two dozen fatalities today as we’ve become more smitten with the indoors and our technology has improved. Back in the 1940s, before weather radar and back when people spent more time outside than we do today, hundreds of people died from lightning strikes each year. In fact, fewer people in the United States die from lightning strikes today than ever before, a testament to changes in society, technology, and storm safety education. Most people survive this rare encounter with electricity. Not everyone who's struck by lightning dies from the incident. He was treated at the hospital and diagnosed with rhabdomyolysis the lightning strike damaged the muscles in his left hand, releasing dangerous proteins into his blood that could lead to serious illness later on if left untreated. While surveying the damage-which, according to WHEC, included burned wires, damaged telephones, and fried computers-Gemayel realized the lightning also struck his left hand. WHEC reports that Nick Gemayel saw a bright flash and deafening crack emanate from a light switch in his office during a thunderstorm on June 5, 2017. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |