# Ball Lightning



## TxllxT (Mar 2, 2011)

Two days ago our neighbours encountered a display of ball lightning close above their houses. Spectacular! All their TVs, boilers, microwave ovens jointly gave the spirit. My wife happened to be ironing and all of a sudden her flat iron went dead.
My question: Does there exist a preventive measure that effectively saves one's electronic equipment when the lightning really comes & hits close; say, right above your roof?
We happen to have isolated our house with foil. Now I wonder, whether this foil isolation causes a protective faraday cage to come into effect, because we had much less damage than our neighbours.


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## Fsharpmajor (Dec 14, 2008)

It depends on where the lightning actually strikes. I'm not an expert on this subject, but as I understand it, a lightning strike on a power line near you could easily overwhelm any surge protection you have, and burn out all of your electronic equipment.

On the other hand, if you have a lightning rod on your house, this will be grounded, and if a bolt of lightning strikes it, the charge will be safely dissipated into the earth.

I don't know for sure whether having foil insulation in your house could act as a Faraday cage, but I doubt that it would, in most practical circumstances.

As I've said, I'm not an expert, so don't rely on this advice for your safety.


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## TxllxT (Mar 2, 2011)

The ball lightning hit an unused antenna, of which now a smouldered lucifer remained. On hitting the pole the ball splashed in many directions: the street smelled of burned things. But of course a lot of electricity went through the air. I happen to have some protection against fluctuations of the mains voltage. But the biggest surprise afterwards is the our living room with all its electric equipment remained safe, while the ground fault circuit interrupter went from 1 to 0.....


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## Ukko (Jun 4, 2010)

Ball lightning does not _necessarily_ represent a lightning strike. It is called 'ball' because it is. It responds to, but is not a slave to, grounds. Old hillbilly families often have stories about it, because them damn storms can circle the hill we live are on. the family dog's hair stands on end, ozone taints the air, and... gadfry, the whippersnappers should be spared the details.


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## Couchie (Dec 9, 2010)

Nobody knows what ball lightning even is, as I read just now on Wikipedia.


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## TxllxT (Mar 2, 2011)

Miracle of miracles: my wife plugged in her dead flat iron (a French 'Tefal'), I guess to give it a last goodbye, and WOW: it works again. Could it be, that even such dumbo electrical stuff as flat irons have a kind of mains voltage-fluctuation protection inside?? Anyhow, we now have a German 'Braun' :cheers: and a French 'Tefal' :tiphat: in our household.


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## Ukko (Jun 4, 2010)

Couchie said:


> Nobody knows what ball lightning even is, as I read just now on Wikipedia.


We know what it looks like, and some of the things it does. The details are for them _science_ dudes to figure out.


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## TxllxT (Mar 2, 2011)

I spoke with someone in our village about the lightning damage at our close neighbours and our unexpected flat iron revival. The suggestion was made, that perhaps the flat iron somehow swallowed the sudden overflow of voltage & electric current like a kind of huge condensator. Later on the flat iron lost this buildup of this lightning-flash inside again and returned back to normality. If this wild theory is true, than it would be quite advisable to start ironing, as soon as lightningclouds are dooming up in the neighbourhood. Without knowing about it in advance, we might actually have saved all other electronic equipment in our house......


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