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Bad Idea #26: Weathering the Storm
16 years ago
Bad Ideas explained: http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/321008/ Includes index.
Hoping for clear skies.
It's not a nice day, or night, but one with a sky full of threatening clouds. Maybe there's some cloud-to-cloud lightning. It might be a great show to watch if one was in a nice safe place to watch the show. A fellow in this picture is not in a safe place. He's in a very bad place. He's not out swimming or on a golf course or flying a kite, but he's still too close to what might happen.
He's at the base of a tower. It's not a terribly tall tower, but it is taller than anything else nearby. It's rather unusual tower as the very bottom is not metal and is not sunk into the ground and encased in concrete. No, this tower has a shelter over the bottom so our fellow won't be getting damp from the rain. The shelter also provides support. Very non-metallic support. The very bottom of the tower ends in a point. No, it ends in two points, like a skewer. And not far below are two points also like a skewer. These are metal and they are well-grounded. If there were nothing but air between the upper and lower points it might be an interesting thing to watch some arcing across the gap during thunderstorms, though you might prefer to watch rather remotely.
ADDENDUM:
irbisgreif points out that it would be better for the build-up and sudden discharge for these not to be points, but spheres. That way they build up a charge which *snaps* suddenly rather than bleed off a charge across the points.
And where is the poor fellow fellow who would rather have clear skies right now? He's at the base of the tower, in the shelter, strapped down, legs held well apart. And his balls each happen to be positioned, just so, between upper and lower points. That they rest uncomfortably on the lower points hasn't left him feeling very pleased. But his real worry is the building storm off in the distance. If a charge builds up on the tower... if there's a lightning strike, even just a close and not a direct hit, there will be an arc. And that arc will... ah, but you know what that would do. You might call it... ball lightning.
Hoping for clear skies.
It's not a nice day, or night, but one with a sky full of threatening clouds. Maybe there's some cloud-to-cloud lightning. It might be a great show to watch if one was in a nice safe place to watch the show. A fellow in this picture is not in a safe place. He's in a very bad place. He's not out swimming or on a golf course or flying a kite, but he's still too close to what might happen.
He's at the base of a tower. It's not a terribly tall tower, but it is taller than anything else nearby. It's rather unusual tower as the very bottom is not metal and is not sunk into the ground and encased in concrete. No, this tower has a shelter over the bottom so our fellow won't be getting damp from the rain. The shelter also provides support. Very non-metallic support. The very bottom of the tower ends in a point. No, it ends in two points, like a skewer. And not far below are two points also like a skewer. These are metal and they are well-grounded. If there were nothing but air between the upper and lower points it might be an interesting thing to watch some arcing across the gap during thunderstorms, though you might prefer to watch rather remotely.
ADDENDUM:
irbisgreif points out that it would be better for the build-up and sudden discharge for these not to be points, but spheres. That way they build up a charge which *snaps* suddenly rather than bleed off a charge across the points.And where is the poor fellow fellow who would rather have clear skies right now? He's at the base of the tower, in the shelter, strapped down, legs held well apart. And his balls each happen to be positioned, just so, between upper and lower points. That they rest uncomfortably on the lower points hasn't left him feeling very pleased. But his real worry is the building storm off in the distance. If a charge builds up on the tower... if there's a lightning strike, even just a close and not a direct hit, there will be an arc. And that arc will... ah, but you know what that would do. You might call it... ball lightning.
You want big metal balls at the ends of the metal to attract lightning, points just kind of glow.
The St. Elmo's variety would be cool too, of course.