good explanations...
To precise, I didn't know what was happening to me, only after, lights went dim on me.
I was maybe 2 feet from the lamp on the side 2 feet from the chandelier and the lamp on the table.
the electricity flowed for half a second on my skin.
To the observer I was just getting electrocuted out of nowhere through both hands, the lights went almost double intensity and you could hear a distinct electric noise.
But I touched no conductors, nothing....
He said that if there was an electric ball, he could no see it because the lights went very strong. All I remember is that it started with a small shock, i felt something was wrong, then 1/2 second later I got the real good shock... fortunately it didn't last long, except pain in the little finger I was almost fine.
To precise, I didn't know what was happening to me, only after, lights went dim on me.
I was maybe 2 feet from the lamp on the side 2 feet from the chandelier and the lamp on the table.
the electricity flowed for half a second on my skin.
To the observer I was just getting electrocuted out of nowhere through both hands, the lights went almost double intensity and you could hear a distinct electric noise.
But I touched no conductors, nothing....
He said that if there was an electric ball, he could no see it because the lights went very strong. All I remember is that it started with a small shock, i felt something was wrong, then 1/2 second later I got the real good shock... fortunately it didn't last long, except pain in the little finger I was almost fine.
just to add, I didn't know what happened, but, to precise a third time...
the electrical noise was very deep and low, and very loud ... which is very scary because my system was almost shut down, I almost heard nothing and saw the lights goes down... my friend told me it was very loud, like a huge electric arc and deep deep ... and the lights went very bright, the surge must have been at least double the voltage around me this is very scary,
the electrical noise was very deep and low, and very loud ... which is very scary because my system was almost shut down, I almost heard nothing and saw the lights goes down... my friend told me it was very loud, like a huge electric arc and deep deep ... and the lights went very bright, the surge must have been at least double the voltage around me this is very scary,
Another amazing coincidence, yesterday morning I left at 6AM to get the drop on everyone else trying to get the last of this season's pick your own strawberries and I witnessed my first ever near hit which took out a line transformer and sent a hail of sparks all over the road in front of me. It was actually quite exhilarating and I can see Tesla's fascination.
cool Scott!
I witnessed 2 times lightning strike on electric wires from the car, once it was as closed as you were, I felt save
all the electricity went to the top ground wire.
When I was young in Quebec City, the most powerful lightning strike ever fell a block from us. We were like 100m from it I suppose, and in the next morning everyone in the neighborhood went looking for where it landed, it landed on a big tree on a lawn 2 streets down i think, but one block away whatever, and it almost cut in half a 1' diameter branch, I was very surprised how well the tree took the damage, I have seen worse damage done by lightning to trees, like sectioning the main trunk in half, we talk here about 1 m or more diameter trees..
Anyway the earthquake and sound that this lightning strike did was the loudest and biggest that I ever heard, it was topping everything I ever witnessed by far.
The loudest thing, was heard from my science teacher from Belgium, Mr. Mazi (or close), a V2 rocket exploded in his town and blew up all the windows of his parents house, he receive permanent hear loss from that since a young age. He told me the crater was very deep.
I am leaving my amp on tonight, trying to see if it could have triggered the event, from some oscillation or something and attracted electricity over there, I hooked up my amp meter from the chandelier to the lamp which is on, I suppose if anything went off the meter will pick it up... idk...
To me it is not a ball lighting, it was not an arc, not lightning strike, no sulfur odor, no one saw a fireball, there was no other noise than the loud deep arc sound.
I witnessed 2 times lightning strike on electric wires from the car, once it was as closed as you were, I felt save
all the electricity went to the top ground wire.When I was young in Quebec City, the most powerful lightning strike ever fell a block from us. We were like 100m from it I suppose, and in the next morning everyone in the neighborhood went looking for where it landed, it landed on a big tree on a lawn 2 streets down i think, but one block away whatever, and it almost cut in half a 1' diameter branch, I was very surprised how well the tree took the damage, I have seen worse damage done by lightning to trees, like sectioning the main trunk in half, we talk here about 1 m or more diameter trees..
Anyway the earthquake and sound that this lightning strike did was the loudest and biggest that I ever heard, it was topping everything I ever witnessed by far.
The loudest thing, was heard from my science teacher from Belgium, Mr. Mazi (or close), a V2 rocket exploded in his town and blew up all the windows of his parents house, he receive permanent hear loss from that since a young age. He told me the crater was very deep.
I am leaving my amp on tonight, trying to see if it could have triggered the event, from some oscillation or something and attracted electricity over there, I hooked up my amp meter from the chandelier to the lamp which is on, I suppose if anything went off the meter will pick it up... idk...
To me it is not a ball lighting, it was not an arc, not lightning strike, no sulfur odor, no one saw a fireball, there was no other noise than the loud deep arc sound.
I agree, i am just paranoid right now, a tube going full oscillation at full power is not enough to send such crazy electricity near fully grounded stuff, especially more than 8 meters away.
I left the amp on all day, nothing showed up on the meters... but I will try again tomorrow.
Due to the description of sound that the current made, that I almost lost consciousness, I am double puzzled to not find any damage, it looks like there is some arcing damage on the lamp prongs, but I am not sure, I will post a picture tomorrow, but, I have no loss hair, burns, nothing beside numbness on the side of my finger, I had a normal day like any day. All my relatives are clueless as I am.
I left the amp on all day, nothing showed up on the meters... but I will try again tomorrow.
Due to the description of sound that the current made, that I almost lost consciousness, I am double puzzled to not find any damage, it looks like there is some arcing damage on the lamp prongs, but I am not sure, I will post a picture tomorrow, but, I have no loss hair, burns, nothing beside numbness on the side of my finger, I had a normal day like any day. All my relatives are clueless as I am.
Glad to hear you are OK. That's a hell of a story to tell and be able to walk away. Will be watching for more details about the cause of the incident and your continued good health. I've worked installing and maintaining a lot of high end electro-mechanical commercial equipment and have a few stories, but heard even more stories of rogue EM fields, reverse ground flow, momentary high potential discharges, etc. Oddly was watching some training videos discussing grounding and bonding mistakes and misconceptions yesterday.
YouTube
Quick story: My great aunt and uncle owned a 160 acre farm for 70 years and were on a party line type phone system most of that time, until the late 80's. That is to say an old system possible in need of further modernized safety features. No one was EVER allowed to be on, or near, the phone during a thunderstorm due to shock! Everyone on the system were accustomed to it!
Take care
YouTube
Quick story: My great aunt and uncle owned a 160 acre farm for 70 years and were on a party line type phone system most of that time, until the late 80's. That is to say an old system possible in need of further modernized safety features. No one was EVER allowed to be on, or near, the phone during a thunderstorm due to shock! Everyone on the system were accustomed to it!
Take care
There must have been a remote lightning strike somewhere.
It can travel several km in phone or powerlines.
For example a 15kV powerline may jump over and cause a buzzing lightning at a distance of 30 to 60 cm depending on humidity and so on.
In our last house lightning jumped out of wall connectors when it stroke about a km away. When it couldn't find grounding it just dissapeared...
So I think the same happened to you. At the end of the cable lightning jumped out.
And you were badley grounded (happily) so you just got a shock!
I have seen phonelines there plastic clamps were ok but at first stainless clamp lightning jumped out of the cable and into the wall and caused a fire.
Figge
It can travel several km in phone or powerlines.
For example a 15kV powerline may jump over and cause a buzzing lightning at a distance of 30 to 60 cm depending on humidity and so on.
In our last house lightning jumped out of wall connectors when it stroke about a km away. When it couldn't find grounding it just dissapeared...
So I think the same happened to you. At the end of the cable lightning jumped out.
And you were badley grounded (happily) so you just got a shock!
I have seen phonelines there plastic clamps were ok but at first stainless clamp lightning jumped out of the cable and into the wall and caused a fire.
Figge
I hope that I can recreate the phenomenon, maybe, or it is related to lightning.
Anyway, the best hypothesis so far is that the chain, with the wires going to the junction box in the basement , then the wires in the basement to the lamps on the table and behind me... you know where it is going... this is a huge C shape wire with a gap, i sit in the gap, so some huge corona effect.
A corona can make loud noise, it might not cause any damage, it could electrify surfaces around it. it could dissipate energy without creating an actual arc.
So, the best plausible solution is that I am sitting in the gap of this huge coil, I still have to explain how the ground didn't break the loop at the junction panel downstairs.
Maybe my amp went into oscillation after overheating, some high frequency signal could have been generated through the speaker wires and the big C coil amplify the voltage and create that crazy thing.
Or it is related to some huge energy coming from solar storm or lightning in proximity or some ionizing weapon lol
Anyway, the best hypothesis so far is that the chain, with the wires going to the junction box in the basement , then the wires in the basement to the lamps on the table and behind me... you know where it is going... this is a huge C shape wire with a gap, i sit in the gap, so some huge corona effect.
A corona can make loud noise, it might not cause any damage, it could electrify surfaces around it. it could dissipate energy without creating an actual arc.
So, the best plausible solution is that I am sitting in the gap of this huge coil, I still have to explain how the ground didn't break the loop at the junction panel downstairs.
Maybe my amp went into oscillation after overheating, some high frequency signal could have been generated through the speaker wires and the big C coil amplify the voltage and create that crazy thing.
Or it is related to some huge energy coming from solar storm or lightning in proximity or some ionizing weapon lol
Pretty much anything can be the conduit for ball lightning. Especially big waveguides. I’ve seen it created from a direct strike, in the trailer wher I grew up. The bolt hit the concrete patio outside, then a second or two later, my mom drew an arc from the screen door five feet away. She says she heard and felt the buzz. I saw a purplish orb about 2 feet in diameter come down the hall, and not even moving very fast. Nothing appeared to be damaged initially, until we went to take showers later and the water was cold. It took out the water heater. Not just the element, but the Romex cable from it to the breaker box - completely melted and fused. The breaker didn’t even trip - the cable failed open circuit from the surge. Guess someone was watching - trailers are supposed to be swept up by tornadoes and burnt down.
this is the closest description to what happened.
Surprisingly with 2 grounded cables around it , there was no damages to anything.
I questioned my neighbors who told me they heard a exceptionally loud sound near the backyard which is probably some small lightning.
Those incidents must be more frequent than reported.
Surprisingly with 2 grounded cables around it , there was no damages to anything.
I questioned my neighbors who told me they heard a exceptionally loud sound near the backyard which is probably some small lightning.
Those incidents must be more frequent than reported.
First it is great you are still alive and doing well. Secondly one of the greatest bits of nonsense is the saying "Electricity takes the path of least resistance." It does not. It takes all paths in inverse proportion to the resistance.
Your 1 ohm of ground resistance is no match for the thousands of amps that may be in a lightning strike, not even considering the inductance.
Lightning strikes are often really multiple closely spaced discharges that we perceive as a single bolt.
My guess would be you were struck by lightning but most of the energy was dissipated elsewhere.
There is a strong possibility that this has affected your mental powers if you are actually taking advice from this website!
Your 1 ohm of ground resistance is no match for the thousands of amps that may be in a lightning strike, not even considering the inductance.
Lightning strikes are often really multiple closely spaced discharges that we perceive as a single bolt.
My guess would be you were struck by lightning but most of the energy was dissipated elsewhere.
There is a strong possibility that this has affected your mental powers if you are actually taking advice from this website!
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There is a strong possibility that this has affected your mental powers if you are actually taking advice from this website!
Hahaha, I thought sharing it here would lead to shared experiences.
Booze, Lays, Rum-n coke at 3AM is more damaging
it is the best explanation so far: energy went to the chandelier ground, the table lamp, and the foot lamp, as well as the ground plugs and small garden.
But, we are supposed to be safe in the house... and there is no damage.
which, I think is a very small electric fire ball
The best fit explanation appears to be cloud-ground lightening. Most houses act as a Faraday cage. Your crazy light chain was making a lightning rod from your roof through you. The Dielectric strength of air is 3 MV/m so you may have had very high voltage flowing over you. Your alive as both arms would have similar potential. The lack of current flowing from one hand to the other spared your heart cardiac nodes from being zapped. As you were well insulated most of the current would flow over the skin due to surface effects of the high voltage saving internal burns. But the brain neurons being stimulated affected your consciousness. Thats likely how folk see "ball lightening"
Lightening is very unpredictable. Its likely once ground leaders from your house formed that most of the discharge energy flowed outside the house rather then via an air gap and you. Your still a lucky man. If that happens again call emergency right away.
Any residual problems? Loss of smell? Loss of sensation in fingers? Pin prick skin marks?
Do you have a pointed roof that will act as a leader initiator?
Can you ask all your neighbours for an eye witness accounts of the event and how often this happens?
Please get rid of the hanging light. Dont be tempted to swap the chain for synthetic. Wiring alone at those voltages is a risk. Install downlights.
Remember lightening strikes twice. There seem to be low resistance places that although not elevated get hit repeatedly. A friends neighbours have been hit three times.Even when their tallest tree went up in flames, died and was cut down the yard kept getting hit. So get a lightening rod installed.
Lightening is very unpredictable. Its likely once ground leaders from your house formed that most of the discharge energy flowed outside the house rather then via an air gap and you. Your still a lucky man. If that happens again call emergency right away.
Any residual problems? Loss of smell? Loss of sensation in fingers? Pin prick skin marks?
Do you have a pointed roof that will act as a leader initiator?
Can you ask all your neighbours for an eye witness accounts of the event and how often this happens?
Please get rid of the hanging light. Dont be tempted to swap the chain for synthetic. Wiring alone at those voltages is a risk. Install downlights.
Remember lightening strikes twice. There seem to be low resistance places that although not elevated get hit repeatedly. A friends neighbours have been hit three times.Even when their tallest tree went up in flames, died and was cut down the yard kept getting hit. So get a lightening rod installed.
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Good thing you had both arms up. Just to show how lucky you are is this sad story:
Recently, in an undisclosed place and time, police wandered onto a grisly and unusual scene.
That day, a 53-year-old man had been renovating his cottage alone when he stopped answering his phone. His family, growing worried, called the police, who showed up at the man's door.
Inside, they found his corpse lying between two metal sawhorses, badly burned. But there was no evidence of fire anywhere else in the house, and no sign of an electrical malfunction, leading investigators to wonder whether the man had been burned elsewhere and then hidden in the cottage. But a closer look indicated that this death was much more unusual. https://www.bonniercorp.com/popular-science/
Seventy percent of the man's body was covered in first-, second-, and third-degree burns, his clothing and hair singed, while other parts appeared untouched. There was an especially bad burn on his left foot, and the skin was broken on his right thumb, which also showed a yellow discoloration. His airways did not contain soot. Instead, he bore evidence of heart failure.
Taking a look around at the steel beams that protruded from the central area of the cottage to the outside of the house, and the metal tools scattered about the man, the investigators put two and two together. These burns weren't caused by fire. Instead, a lightning bolt must have travelled down the beams, arcing across the metal tools. The electricity entered the man's body through his left foot, and exited through his right thumb after passing through his heart.
Meteorologists confirmed a thunderstorm had passed through the area a few hours earlier, right around the estimated time of death.
https://www.popsci.com/an-unusual-death-by-indoor-lightning-strike/
A Unusual Lightning Death in an Indoor Setting: A Case Report
Ventura, Francesco MD, PhD; Barranco, Rosario MD; Bonsignore, Alessandro MD, PhD; De Stefano, Francesco MD
The American Journal of Forensic Medicine and Pathology: March 2017
Death due to lightning strikes is infrequent, above all indoors. A 53-year-old man was reached by an electrical discharge originating from lightning while he was doing renovation work on a cottage. In this case, the correct interpretation of the autopsy and histological aspects and the attentive analysis of the circumstantial and environmental data led to the correct diagnosis of death and to the reconstruction of the dynamics with which it occurred. It was in fact possible to reconstruct that during a violent thunderstorm, lightning, discharging from the bottom upward formed an electric arc. The victim, who was close to metal objects (sawhorses), was struck on the left foot and the current exited from the right hand passing through the heart causing immediate death.
Recently, in an undisclosed place and time, police wandered onto a grisly and unusual scene.
That day, a 53-year-old man had been renovating his cottage alone when he stopped answering his phone. His family, growing worried, called the police, who showed up at the man's door.
Inside, they found his corpse lying between two metal sawhorses, badly burned. But there was no evidence of fire anywhere else in the house, and no sign of an electrical malfunction, leading investigators to wonder whether the man had been burned elsewhere and then hidden in the cottage. But a closer look indicated that this death was much more unusual. https://www.bonniercorp.com/popular-science/
Seventy percent of the man's body was covered in first-, second-, and third-degree burns, his clothing and hair singed, while other parts appeared untouched. There was an especially bad burn on his left foot, and the skin was broken on his right thumb, which also showed a yellow discoloration. His airways did not contain soot. Instead, he bore evidence of heart failure.
Taking a look around at the steel beams that protruded from the central area of the cottage to the outside of the house, and the metal tools scattered about the man, the investigators put two and two together. These burns weren't caused by fire. Instead, a lightning bolt must have travelled down the beams, arcing across the metal tools. The electricity entered the man's body through his left foot, and exited through his right thumb after passing through his heart.
Meteorologists confirmed a thunderstorm had passed through the area a few hours earlier, right around the estimated time of death.
https://www.popsci.com/an-unusual-death-by-indoor-lightning-strike/
A Unusual Lightning Death in an Indoor Setting: A Case Report
Ventura, Francesco MD, PhD; Barranco, Rosario MD; Bonsignore, Alessandro MD, PhD; De Stefano, Francesco MD
The American Journal of Forensic Medicine and Pathology: March 2017
Death due to lightning strikes is infrequent, above all indoors. A 53-year-old man was reached by an electrical discharge originating from lightning while he was doing renovation work on a cottage. In this case, the correct interpretation of the autopsy and histological aspects and the attentive analysis of the circumstantial and environmental data led to the correct diagnosis of death and to the reconstruction of the dynamics with which it occurred. It was in fact possible to reconstruct that during a violent thunderstorm, lightning, discharging from the bottom upward formed an electric arc. The victim, who was close to metal objects (sawhorses), was struck on the left foot and the current exited from the right hand passing through the heart causing immediate death.
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