Great documentary from the beeb:

i flew a kite once in a thunder storm or rather, the neighbors kids kite was up in the air before thunder storm caught us, I was trying to bring their kite down safely (we were at the top of the apartments , about 5 floors high). While bringing the kite down safely, a lightning swooshed past us and I could feel as though my entire body was radiated by it, it was as though a sparkles firecracker went over my whole body but microscopic, a sense of burning everywhere. It probably hit a pipe which was just a little behind us and just a bit taller than me. The kids ran and I was amazed by what just happened, (i closed my eyes the moment I saw a flash streak past me).

Evolving wrote:You were probably lucky not to get fried.

I was a stupid teenager, I wanted to try that again and I actually did this time with a tiny bit of aluminum foil rolled on the kite stick(the first one was paper and stick). Luckily it didnt repeat and now I know that mr benjamin franklin was lucky or that is an urban legend. Now I tell you that they should have mentioned that the expt is dangerous in school while they tell that story. I was 15-16 and I wonder how many kids and people died trying to repeat that expt.

cavarka9 wrote:i flew a kite once in a thunder storm or rather, the neighbors kids kite was up in the air before thunder storm caught us, I was trying to bring their kite down safely (we were at the top of the apartments , about 5 floors high). While bringing the kite down safely, a lightning swooshed past us and I could feel as though my entire body was radiated by it, it was as though a sparkles firecracker went over my whole body but microscopic, a sense of burning everywhere. It probably hit a pipe which was just a little behind us and just a bit taller than me. The kids ran and I was amazed by what just happened, (i closed my eyes the moment I saw a flash streak past me).

Wow. Yeah, I've heard people say that they've felt their hair start to stand up on end and their skin tingle before a strike nearby. I would have shat myself.

memories are unreliable but i remember it being like 11:47 , also this is probably only now that evolving mentioned, that I remember that I was/am very lucky to be alive and can now understand why the neighbors kids ran away(no they were not cowards,they ran much after the thing was done), time to celebrate it with a pizza

cavarka9 wrote:

Evolving wrote:You were probably lucky not to get fried.

I was a stupid teenager, I wanted to try that again and I actually did this time with a tiny bit of aluminum foil rolled on the kite stick(the first one was paper and stick). Luckily it didnt repeat and now I know that mr benjamin franklin was lucky or that is an urban legend. Now I tell you that they should have mentioned that the expt is dangerous in school while they tell that story. I was 15-16 and I wonder how many kids and people died trying to repeat that expt.

The wikipedia article on lightning is good. Franklin did perform the experiment and was indeed lucky. The article recounts a case of a Russian researcher being killed doing this type of experiment.

In my physics book it was said that Franklin's experiment is highly dangerous and should not be repeated.

Mountaineers can get into situations where they physically feel the static electricity.