(TFT) Re: Lightning

[Mark Tapley <mtapley@swri.edu>]

At 18:12 -0400 10/25/11, Jay wrote:
> But it still takes more than 3 mega-Volts to breakdown air electrically even
> if your just counting in Melee-hexes.

http://205.243.100.155/frames/longarc.htm

	For what it's worth, Power = voltage * current. Natural 
lightning has a whole lot of both. It is entirely possible to 
generate voltage with almost no current (or the other way around) 
which means very little power is dissipated at the end-point. For 
example, on a really dry day, you can crank up 50,000 volts by 
shuffling across a carpet in your shoes - but with almost no current. 
Compare the damage resulting when you touch a radiator (Snap - ow!) 
to the 46 kV feeder line incinerating the crane and exploding the 
concrete under it, on the 7th link on the above page. The difference 
is the amount of current.

	This is a lot like the discussions we had earlier about speed 
and energy. A molecule moving at several km/sec isn't dangerous - 
they are all over the place, many hitting you right now. A BB moving 
at several km/sec is deadly. A locomotive moving at several km/sec is 
a weapon of mass destruction. The difference in that case is not the 
speed - it's the mass.

	For the electric case, it's not the voltage - that tells how 
much energy *per electron* is available - it's the product of voltage 
and current. That is, (energy per electron) times (number of 
electrons).

	I don't have too much trouble with the idea of a wizard being 
able to call up arbitrary voltage to punch through the air resistance 
between him and the target, and the current then being the deciding 
factor on how much damage gets done when it hits. There are worse 
problems with faraday-cage armor, aiming the thing, preventing it 
from shorting out in rain, etc. etc.


David,
	seconded kudos on the artwork! It does look really good.
--
						- Mark     210-379-4635
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