October 3, 2006: Photographer catches lightning bolt hitting neighbor's house

Kane Quinnell buys a new digital camera and decides it would be interesting to capture a storm shot. Let the Daily Mail tell it:

"The storm looked like it was five to 10 kilometres to the south. I thought it was perfectly safe to be outdoors, taking photos."

After setting the camera for a four-second exposure he began shooting pictures, suspecting there was little chance of lightning flashing while the shutter was open.

"I hit the button … and there was nothing. I hit the button again … and nothing. On about the fourth attempt I hit the button again and I saw this lightning and heard the thunder.

"It was like a crack. The next thing I was about two metres in the air - it scared the hell out of me."

Mr Quinnell estimated the lightning struck about 20 metres away. "I think it hit the house behind me."

Unhurt, but buzzing with adrenaline, he rushed inside to check the photo on his computer.

"I was amazed. It was the first storm picture I had really taken."

First one. I wonder if he'll continue?

Maybe, because Britain's Bureau of Meteorology has used the shot in its 2006 weather calendar. Sure, go ahead, encourage the guy. Dude you could do so much better!

Beautiful

. . . "lightning" or his ( :fsm: ) noodley appendage ???

Wouldn't it be cool if we could harness lightning? I bet there's enough energy in that bolt to run the house it hit for an entire year.

Flint wrote:

. . . "lightning" or his ( :fsm: ) noodley appendage ???

What does that thing mean???????????

Nice photo, though!

it's particularly interesting with all of the 'feelers' reaching into the adjacent trees. Or they may be failed leaders reaching out?

Shawnee123 wrote:

What does that thing mean???????????

Flint is refering to the Flying Spagetti Monster. "His noodley appendage" is mocking "the hand of God."

Shawnee123 wrote:

What does that thing mean???????????

Refer to: Open Letter To Kansas School Board

Shawnee123 wrote:

What does that thing mean???????????

Flying Spaghetti Monster

glatt wrote:

... I bet there's enough energy in that bolt to run the house it hit for an entire year.

Sure there is, it just runs the entire year in about 1 second, for vastly different results!:p

Jake Johannsen: "The directions say 10 minutes at 400 degrees, I'll just put it in for one minute at 4000 degrees!"

Ahhhh, thanks for the info on FSM, all. Great stuff!

And Lo, the Lord spake unto the World: "Suck it, n00b!"

Spexxvet wrote:

Sure there is, it just runs the entire year in about 1 second, for vastly different results!:p

True, but if we had a way to store that power. it would eliminate the need for oil, natural gas, coal, Nukes, windmills and
Gerbil treadmills.
Lightning could easily power the whole country with clean renewable power.
Of course it wouldn't be cheap because the electric company has you by the short hairs.... but hey, you can't have it all.:D

do we need an explanation of volts vs amps and what they refer too here?:eyebrow:

"When there's lightning, you know it always brings me down..."
(picture Dio, sitting inside on a rainy day, looking out the window and weeping)

Thanks, skeeter! :thumbsup:

Outreach for Health, Medicine and Education?

Flint: like "owned," but with ohms.

I took the plunge and registered. There is some more background to the story. I'd put in a link, but as a new user that would get deleted.
Here is some of it:
"The above lightning stroke was almost certainly a "bolt from the blue" - a relatively rare positive lightning bolt that originates from the top of a distant storm cloud rather than from the negatively charged cloud base. These massive discharges can travel horizontally for 10 miles or more from the top of the main storm. Positive lightning bolts can pack peak currents of up to 340,000 amperes, and they last for tens, or even hundreds, of milliseconds. This is about ten times more current and ten times longer than regular (negative) lightning. As a result, positive lightning is extremely hot, and it does considerable damage to whatever it hits. If you happen to be unlucky enough to be the target of one of these monster bolts, you DO NOT survive."

Those obvious spam deletions are done lovingly by hand and are not automated, just in case you were wondering.

Whoops. Have I just revealed a trade secret?

Eh, but I'm certain that spammers are not reading the boards to figure out our actual plans to rule the world. (*oops*)

Welcome tral, thanks, and post that link.

Any news on where this was? (I can't link to the article).

Although it's a British paper and it's on the British calendar it's unusual for this country:
Houses are usually closer together
There are few places palm trees grow (mostly only the South West)
It's not common to use kilometers in normal conversation
Kane Quinnell? Not typically British name.

Not that it matters where it was (apart from satisfying my curiousity) it's a great photo.

This says Australia. It's got some other cool pictures as well.

I couldn't log on again yesterday, but this link may or may not get you to more information. If it doesn't, it is because it sometimes redirects you to the home page for teslamania, which is very cool, if you like electricity, but it is hard to find the image in question and the background story.

As for where and when: "Friday night (14/01/05) that appeared to be a few km away, (I live in Old Toongabbie, and the storm appeared to be in Pendle Hill, or Greystanes, Australia)."

Good link dar512, did you see the gallery links to the Lichtenberg figures at the bottom....awesome.


Hi tralfaz, welcome to the Cellar and thanks for the input. :thumbsup:

xoxoxoBruce wrote:

Good link dar512, did you see the gallery links to the Lichtenberg figures at the bottom....awesome.

Yep. Very cool. There's a quote somewhere else on the Cellar about beauty and strangeness being linked. In this case it's beauty and danger.

[COLOR="White"].[/COLOR]

headsplice wrote:

And Lo, the Lord spake unto the World: "Suck it, n00b!"

:rotflol: