posted by [identity profile] syntonic-comma.livejournal.com at 03:34pm on 2004-03-06
We had a bit of a cleansing thunderstorm through here too (DC), with a brief rainbow afterward.

If you were to actually get a lightning strike, the non-conductive bits of any electronic device aren't going to matter much if you're on the path to ground. Normal notions of insulation do not apply.
 
posted by [identity profile] dglenn.livejournal.com at 05:35pm on 2004-03-06
Hmm. Middle of a wooden floor, three stories up. Amp does have a three-prong plug. I don't think I was on a very good ground path (though electricity is occasionally surprising).
 
posted by [identity profile] juuro.livejournal.com at 10:53pm on 2004-03-06
And even if I am not in the direct discharge path, the induced overvoltage can have interesting effects. For instance, there was this stereo. Sitting quietly in the corner, turned off and all. The thunderstrom was a good ways off, several kilometers to the closest strike. Then there was a flash inside the room, and music rolling out from the speakers.

The lightning had not even struck the utility line. It was just an induced overvoltage. Not enough to do much damage, but it did weld the contacts of the mains switch in the stereo permanently "on".

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