Did the Sinton GodFather bust Mythbusters?

[Phil C]

My oldest son really enjoys Mythbusters on the Discovery Channel and I saw an episode that he had recorded and it was about Ben Franklin when he discovered electricity. According to them it was a myth because when the lightening struck the kite and went down the string it did create the spark but according to them since Franklin was holding the string also he would have been electricuted and killed. If I remember correctly in school when I was young they realized even way back in his day how dangerous lightening was (we were taught not to fly a kite in the rain) and that when the lightening struck and went down the string to the key that Franklin (who wasn't foolish as we all know) knew the danger and had already let go of the string before it got to him. Is Mythbusters busted? Please comment.

[smustangs]

very intriguing question but i would be willing to agree with you and say he let go if he was smart enough to figure that out he smart enought to let go of the string haha

[Bullaholic]

Well, Phil. IMO, kite string is probably not the best electrical conductor in the world, and is not of a very great diameter. So, if Franklin was indeed successful in getting a bolt of lightning to "strike" his kite string, the electricity generated would probably have had no more amperage than is generated by static electricity if it reached the "key". Otherwise, the string would probably have burned in two. Lightning is not fully understood even by modern science, but they believe that it actually occurs because of the difference in electrical potential between positively charged ions in the clouds and a ground potential on the ground.

[big daddy russ]

What if, as Bull said, the charge was nowhere near what it was when it struck? And what if Franklin wasn't grounded?

[Adidas410s]

Originally posted by big daddy russ
What if, as Bull said, the charge was nowhere near what it was when it struck? And what if Franklin wasn't grounded?

how could Franklin have NOT been grounded? I guess he could have been standing on something but then he was still indirectly grounded. The only conceivable option is if his kite had carried him off the ground.

[SWMustang]

Y'all are way smarter than me. I was going to ask what would happen if he jumped off the ground when the lightening struck the kite. :confused:

[Bullaholic]

Originally posted by big daddy russ
What if, as Bull said, the charge was nowhere near what it was when it struck? And what if Franklin wasn't grounded?

Russ, electricity will "flow" and seek the best ground potential that it can find. Probably in Franklin's case, the charge went through the key and through him, to earth ground, unless he had a ground wire running from his key to the ground.

[SintonFan]

Most likely it was hemp string used back then. Not a very good conductor but electricity will find the path of least resistance. The key up in the air attached to the string might have helped.

[big daddy russ]

Originally posted by Adidas410s
how could Franklin have NOT been grounded? I guess he could have been standing on something but then he was still indirectly grounded. The only conceivable option is if his kite had carried him off the ground.
Rubber-sole shoes?

I'm not an electrician, so I don't exactly know a whole lot about the stuff except for the fact that I tend to get the crap shocked out of me everytime I try to rewire anything in my house. But from what I remember from HS physics, I thought there had to be a ground for a moderate electrical charge to fry you.

Anyone who knows more than me, feel free to chime in.

[Bullaholic]

Originally posted by big daddy russ
Rubber-sole shoes?

I'm not an electrician, so I don't exactly know a whole lot about the stuff except for the fact that I tend to get the crap shocked out of me everytime I try to rewire anything in my house. But from what I remember from HS physics, I thought there had to be a ground for a moderate electrical charge to fry you.

Anyone who knows more than me, feel free to chime in.

That's right, Russ. It is the speed of the charge (amperage) moving through a body which "frys" it. Moving electricity generates tremendous heat when it encounters resistance (a body for instance) on its way to ground. If you are well grounded, a charge moves through so fast that it does not have sufficient time to generate that much "friction", therefore no "heat", therfore no cell damage. However, enough voltage moving through a body will probably cause death anyway, because it interrupts the electrical impulses of the body.

[Phil C]

Good points everyone. According to the program the kite and string and the key tied near the end would have conducted the electricity from the lightning and caused the spark. Their point is that it would have killed Franklin. But I was taught he had let go of the string. Interesting thoughts.

[Emerson1]

I've never heard that he let go of the string. No one had ever delt with electricity before, how would he know to let go because it would shock him to death?

[sinton66]

Originally posted by Adidas410s
how could Franklin have NOT been grounded? I guess he could have been standing on something but then he was still indirectly grounded. The only conceivable option is if his kite had carried him off the ground.

Well, it WAS raining, perhaps he had on rubber boots?

[STANG RED]

Thousands of people are struck by lightning every year, and most of them do not die. Lightning has very high voltage, but very low amperage. Most people that are struck, have entrance and exit wounds where it passes through there bodies, but they are usually not real severe because the electecution wasnt a sustained shock for more than a second or so. As long as the current doesnt pass directley through the heart, the person should survive.

[SintonFan]

A little known fact is that the body is a variable resistor. The higher the voltage the lower the body's resistance, which allows a speedier exit through the body.

[sinton66]

You also do NOT have to be grounded to be struck by lightning, all you gotta do is be in the path it wants to take to ground. There is documented cases of people being struck by lightning while driving in their car.

[Emerson1]

Airplanes get struck while flying aswell.

[SintonFan]

Originally posted by SintonFan
A little known fact is that the body is a variable resistor. The higher the voltage the lower the body's resistance, which allows a speedier exit through the body.
.
While technically not a speedier exit, since electricity moves at the speed of light, the path would become less destructive. As Bull said, current kills not voltage.