What I don't understand about lightening/lightning is this: if two sailboats of equal size are anchored in the same bay and one is all wired up with an ionic diffuser at the mast head that is grounded underwater to a plate on the hull, and the other one is "unprotected", which one is more likely to attract a lightening/lightning bolt?
-----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of John R. Butler Sent: Monday, June 18, 2007 2:24 PM To: Montgomery Boats Subject: M_Boats: Re: Lightning Protection Will I be struck by lightning? Interesting question, and many interesting answers if you read all of the possible links. I guess each of us must read the advice, make her/his own decision, and then live with it. I have, since sailing on the Gulf of Mexico too many decades ago, and haven't been struck by lightning yet. Will you excuse an old man's warped sense of humor and cynicism? I couldn't help but wonder if the author of the excellent article in the link wasn't confusing reducing his gross tonnage with reducing his chances of getting fried? I also once wondered if a local garage was offering to increase miles per gallon by reducing the weight of one's car with their "lightening lube." Looking up "lightening" in my dictionary, I find: "a drop in the level of the uterus during the last weeks of pregnancy as the head of the fetus engages in the pelvis," or "make or become lighter in weight, pressure, or severity", and the following discussion clarifies the differences between lightening and lightning (the first has three syllables, the second just two): "USAGE Years ago, the phrase it is lightening (as in 'thundering and lightening') was contracted to it is light'ning, which eventually became further shortened to it is lightning. In modern use, the word lightning stands on its own as a noun (: did you see that lightning?) and a verb ( | it looks as if it's going to start lightning). Today, in the context of electrical storms, lightening would likely be considered a misspelling of lightning, rather than a variant spelling." John R. Butler, #361, "Rejoyce!" [EMAIL PROTECTED] _______________________________________________ http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/montgomery_boats _______________________________________________ http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/montgomery_boats
