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Lightning is a natural phenomenon of disruptive electrostatic discharge which is produced when static electricity accumulates between a cloud and the earth. Lightning tends to hit high altitude areas and prominent objects.
Without adequate protection, propagation of lightning current can lead to multiple effects which are divided into two main categories:
Direct Effects Indirect Effects
Mechanical effects take place when lightning strikes (such as distortion, break off destruction)
Thermal effects (or "Joule’s law") cause fusion on impact point, or destruction by explosion of the material or even starting of fires.
Electrochemical effects mean the chemical transformation of materials through electrolytic reactions (negligible, mostly present on earths).
Step potential can provoke burns or cause respiratory failure or cardiac arrest when the lightning current passes through heterogeneous soils.
Over voltages are conducted when lightning strikes an electrical line or pylon directly. The current is propagated and reaches all the installations along the line, even several kilometers away from the point of impact.
Over voltages are induced by electromagnetic radiation of the lightning current on all nearby metal elements.
Over voltages and transient currents thus appear on all equipment which is connected to these elements, with proportional effects depending on the intensity and proximity of the lightning strike.
Surges in tension on the Earthing systems, which take place when the current spreads into the ground, provoke damaging tension differences between the mass of the equipment and the networks to which they are connected.
Earth potential rise of non-negligible current from a lightning strike is evacuated by the earth of the air terminal and sent to the earth of the installation.
To reduce and to protect from these different effects (both direct and indirect), it is necessary to have a state-of-the-art Installation for External Lightning Protection System (ELPS) and Interior Lightning Protection System (ILPS), with particular care taken in Earthing and interconnections with the conducting elements running alongside the down conductors poles and the electric masses of the installation.
Installing a protection system against over voltages enables to reduce the probabilities of accidents causes by constraints or over voltages to an acceptable level, thus providing a safe environment for people or property.
Lightning Rod roller coaster, built by Rocky Mountain Construction, at Dollywood theme park in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee.
We were sailing behind this storm front. It produced lightning all night long. Great light show. Atlantic Ocean. 28Jul14.
There was lightning everywhere on the night I took this, but I couldn't quite capture it. This was the best I could do! I was facing DC for the Airforce Memorial parking lot in Arlington.
The lightning almost to be striking one of the television towers Mt-Coot-tha in which after one of these bolts the aircraft warning beacons were not flashing due to a power outage.There were many anvil crawlers during this thunderstorm.
Cloud lightning from a thunderstorm south of Clinton, IL. It was clear enough so you could see the stars still.
This fire... like so many that occur in the area... started as a result of lightning during an electrical storm this afternoon. It's amazing just how quickly the firefighters jump into action... and fortunately this fire was brought under control after about two hours of aggressive fire fighting!!!