Lightning Rod Conference. Various
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in Appendix K; but we think that it must be assumed from it that lightning has fused a copper rod ·10 in. (⅒th) in area, i.e., weighing 6 ounces to the foot. We have also the Caterham case, Appendix I, p. (214), where a copper tube weighing 5¾ ounces per foot was heated to redness.
The saving of cost which might be effected by using, for very low buildings, rather slighter rods than for ordinary edifices is not worth considering. In a 30 feet rod it could hardly amount to 10s. We therefore recommend as the minimum to be used:—
| Material. | Pattern. | Diameter. | Sectional Area of Metal. | Weight per foot. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| in. | sq. in. | |||
| Copper | Rope | ½ | ·10 | 6 oz. |
| Copper | Round Rod | ⅜ | ·11 | 7 oz. |
| Copper | Tape | ¾ × ⅛ | ·09 | 6 oz. |
| Iron | Round Rod | 9/10 | ·64 | 35 oz. |
SHAPE OF ROD.—This depends upon a subject which until lately was warmly discussed, viz., upon the relative importance of the sectional area, and of the superficial area of a conductor; a matter which has been the subject of active discussion among electrical authorities. Faraday and Sir W. Snow Harris, for example, held diametrically opposite views respecting it. [Appendix F, p. (89), and I, p. (195).]
There is abundant and conclusive evidence that in the case of steady electric currents, conductivity depends upon sectional area alone, and not at all upon extent of surface, and experiments by Mr. Preece and Dr. Warren De la Rue tend to show that, in the case of sudden discharges from condensers, to which lightning discharges are probably analogous, the influence of form is not considerable. On the other hand, there is equally conclusive evidence that the facility with which currents of short duration pass through conductors is affected by the form and arrangement, as well as by the sectional area of the conductors. Upon the whole we agree with the opinion quoted below, from a writer recognized in the United States as a high authority on lightning conductors, who, after describing and engraving more than fifty patterns of rods, says[1]:—
1. Spang, “A Practical Treatise on Lightning Protection,” p. 121.
“The alleged improvements in the said conductors are, in nearly all cases, worthless, or of a trifling and unimportant character. The fact is, the said conductors are quite inferior, and contain no essential improvement upon the ordinary round iron rod used during the days of Franklin.”
In Europe the only forms at all generally employed are:—
Rods (round or square); Tubes; Tape; Ropes (wire, or wire with hemp centres); Plait.
Rods (round or square).—The advantages and disadvantages of rods are easily stated. The advantages are their durability and their rigidity, the latter being of importance for long upper terminals. The disadvantages are the necessity for numerous joints, and the difficulty of avoiding serious disfigurement to the building to which they are attached.
Tubes have much the same merits and demerits, with the additional objection that they are necessarily of larger diameter than solid rods, and therefore more conspicuous. They have also an additional disadvantage in that they are generally joined together by screw collars. The cutting of the thread in the tube seriously diminishes the sectional area, and the joint so made is electrically defective. If tubes are used, the joints should be made as directed in the code of rules under the head of joints.
Tape is a form of rod which is of comparatively recent introduction, and possesses many advantages. Foremost among these is the length which can be supplied in a single piece. Where, as at the junction with an upper terminal, a joint is needed, it is easily made by clamping or rivetting the two surfaces together and then imbedding the whole in a mass of solder. No kind of coupling known to us is, in our opinion, equal to this very simple one. Owing to the flexibility of the tape it can be made to follow closely the outlines of a building, or may be countersunk in it, and painted over, but, as stated further on, abrupt bends should be avoided, and the precautions and instruction set forth on page 18 should be followed. The objections to tape, Appendix A, pages (5) and (16) will be found to be objections, not to tape per se, but to bad practice on the part of some persons who have fitted it up and availed themselves unduly of its flexibility.
Ropes.—For many years past rope constructed of twisted strands of copper or of iron wires has been largely employed for lightning rods. There is on record a very remarkable case of the complete destruction of a brass wire rope, an event which, if it had been repeated, might justly have been regarded as a serious objection to the use of ropes. This case is fully reported in Appendix F, pages (62–63); and from it some French electricians have concluded that lightning may single out some wires from a rope and travel along them in preference to the rest, even when the whole of them are hardly sufficient to give it a free passage. Whatever may have been the explanation, this accident seems to be unique, and even if we accept the explanation given, the only extra precaution which it calls for, is the soldering of each extremity of the several wires forming the rod, and at every joint, into a single mass.
We agree with M. Borrel in thinking that serious evil arises from using wire of too small diameter, which involves an additional number of interstices for the lodgement of dirt, smoke, and water, and at the same time renders the wires too thin effectually to resist oxidation. We have had before us rope ⅜ in. in diameter, composed of 49 strands of a copper wire about No. 19 B.W.G., say 0·04 in. in diameter. On the contrary, one firm speaks of employing No. 10 B.W.G., i.e. 0·14 in. diameter, and in special cases Nos. 8 and even 7, which would be about 0·17 in. and 0·19 in. diameter respectively: these would not be open to the objection we have raised.
The objection to thin wires is necessarily greater with iron ropes, even if galvanized, than with copper, for irrespective of the doubt as to the perfect galvanizing of every part, there is the greater brittleness, and consequent risk of damage from defective continuity.
Ropes with Hemp Centres.—One English firm sent us a specimen of 6–strand copper rope with a hemp core, and we understand that the same pattern is occasionally used both in iron and copper in France. We do not know the precise object aimed at—probably flexibility—but considering the perishableness of such a core, its variation in length with the hygrometric state of the air, and its invariability when the copper is varying with temperature, we cannot regard it as a wise construction.
Plait.—This form of rod was probably designed in the belief that the essential element in a lightning rod was plenty of surface. It is made in two sizes, with copper wire, about No. 16 B.W.G., plaited into a sort of ribbon. It invites oxidation as much as is possible, and is in our opinion neither durable nor trustworthy. The original form of this rod was ridiculously bad; for it consisted of 13 copper wires and 1 zinc one. Every time that it became wet, feeble electric action was set up, and the zinc wire was gradually destroyed, without the slightest benefit to anybody.
JOINTS.—The most fruitful sources of danger in rods are