Re: Ditch That Cell Phone in a Thunderstorm


Winston Smith wrote:

Is not pulsed DC treated as AC for analysis ? Does not pulsed DC pass
easily through a capacitor ?
Pulsed DC can not be analysed in the same way as AC. You have to use a
Fourier Integral for DC pulses. And while pulsed DC will charge a
capacitor, in this case it just blew thru the insulation. Capacitance
was not a factor.


You missed the earlier parts of the thread. That centered on how
lightning could get past normal skin resistance. I offered the idea
that capacitance between the phone and your highly conductive inner
body offered a likely path.

How can lightning get past normal skin resistance? Normal skin
resistance is not all that high. So the lightning punched thru, burned
the skin and the carbonized skin conducted fairly well.


If you want to know more about lightning get the book " Lightning " by
Martin Uman.
Don't get your facts from the media.

I'm getting my 'suggestion' from 45 years of HV design experience.
Mr. Uman's book seems to be about how lightning works and it appears
he is an authority. This thread is about how one condition can make
the effects of a strike worse inside the body. Different topics.

With your HV design experience, you know that anything that does not
have large radiuses is where you get breakdown started.

I have some experience with lowish voltage design. 2000 volts and
approximently 1800 amp pulses. 2000 volts will punch thru skin,
lightning is a lot higher voltage.


Dan

--
W§ mostly in m.s - http://members.1stconnect.com/anozira

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