The British Medical Association warns against using mobile phones outdoors during thunderstorms
According to Reuters: Doctors at London's Northwick Park Hospital announced that people should not use mobile phones outdoors during thunderstorms. Use your phone outdoors to avoid being struck by lightning.
According to reports, the hospital recently received a patient who was struck by lightning while using a mobile phone during a thunderstorm. Although the 15-year-old girl has regained consciousness, experts say she will not fully recover and that health problems will continue to plague her from now on. Swanda, a well-known doctor at the hospital, told the outside world: "This uncommon phenomenon has become a problem related to public health. It is necessary to strengthen public education and emphasize the dangers of using mobile phones outdoors on rainy days to avoid "It will cause more serious harm in the future," he said in an interview with the British Medical Journal: "Once a person is struck by lightning, the skin can spread the electric current throughout the body in an instant. But if something similar to metal such as a mobile phone comes into contact with the skin, It will increase the chance of internal injuries.”
According to news on June 25, 2006, if you are not afraid of cancer caused by using mobile phones, the British Medical Association has issued a new warning to mobile phone users: Mobile phone users should. Avoid becoming a victim of lightning strikes. According to foreign reports, the British Medical Association recently warned that due to the risk of being struck by lightning, mobile phone users should not use their mobile phones outdoors during thunderstorms. The British Medical Association issued the warning after a 15-year-old girl was struck by lightning while using her mobile phone in a park.
Experts from the British Medical Association pointed out that although using a mobile phone will not "invite" lightning, it may indeed expose users to lightning strikes. Normally, when struck by lightning, the high resistance of human skin will cause the lightning to "pass over" the human body, forming a so-called "flashover", which may prevent the person from dying. However, if a person happened to be carrying a mobile phone or other metal object at that time, "flashover" would not be possible, and the chance of the human body bearing higher voltage would be greatly increased. In China, South Korea, and Malaysia, it is not uncommon for people to be struck by lightning when using mobile phones outdoors during thunderstorms.
This is a barbaric trampling of science
--The reason why the Juyongguan Great Wall was struck by lightning announced by Beijing should be described as absurd
Our investigators
[Kexin News Agency press release on July 28] On July 23 this year, the Juyongguan Great Wall in Beijing was struck by lightning. More than ten tourists, including a foreign tourist, who were taking shelter from the rain at a beacon tower were injured to varying degrees. On July 25, some well-known media in Beijing announced the results of the investigation into the cause of the accident, determining that the lightning strike was caused by an old man using his mobile phone to trigger lightning. A Beijing newspaper reported the opinions of experts: Zhu Pei from the School of Physics of Beijing (Science and Technology) University said that the electromagnetic waves of mobile phones are good conductors of lightning. The electromagnetic waves will form a conductive magnetic field in the humid atmosphere, which can easily attract newly formed lightning strikes. . "Beijing Times" reported that experts based on the placement of on-site lightning protection facilities, as well as the fact that tourists above and below the beacon area where the tourist was struck by lightning were not struck by lightning, and that there were tourists using mobile phones at the time of the incident. After conducting various investigations, analyzes and demonstrations, experts believe that induction lightning triggered by the use of mobile phones during thunderstorms is the main reason for lightning attacks on tourists.
We believe that this seemingly logical conclusion seriously lacks scientific basis, and some explanations have reached the point of absurdity. Anyone with knowledge about lightning knows that induction thunder is the secondary effect of lightning. When lightning occurs, tens of thousands of amperes of current pass through the discharge channel, and the duration of the current is extremely short and the rate of change is extremely fast. This rapidly changing current will produce electromagnetic waves with a wide range of frequencies. The common electromagnetic induction thunder among induction mines is formed because the magnetic field and electromagnetic waves generated by lightning induce a high voltage in nearby conductors. The "Beijing Times" described the lightning strike suffered by the Juyongguan Great Wall as a bolt of lightning hitting the beacon tower. It was a direct strike by lightning, and the electric current harmed those inside. In the professional terminology of lightning protection, this is called direct lightning strike. This lightning strike has nothing to do with sensing thunder and wind.
There is no scientific basis for saying that induction mines attack tourists. If the report quotes the actual words of experts, then the experts have made very inappropriate mistakes on basic conceptual issues.
Experts from Beijing Institute of Technology claim that mobile phone electromagnetic waves are good conductors of lightning and have no scientific basis. People with a high school education should understand that air is usually insulating. Lightning is an atmospheric discharge, which occurs because the extremely high voltage exceeds the tolerance of the air, causing the air to breakdown. Electromagnetic waves themselves are not a medium and cannot be described as conductive or non-conductive. Experts say that the electromagnetic waves of mobile phones are conductors, but they are wrong and have made a shameful conceptual mistake. Taking a step back, if we think that electromagnetic waves cause the air to ionize and conduct electricity, will the conclusion be established? Physics tells us that whether an electromagnetic wave can ionize a gas depends on whether the energy of the electromagnetic wave is high enough. High school physics emphasizes that the energy of electromagnetic waves is related to its frequency. The higher the frequency, the greater the energy. As we all know, light waves are also electromagnetic waves, but their frequency is much higher than radio waves. If the radio waves radiated by mobile phones can ionize the air, then the light waves can also cause lightning strikes. This leads to an absurd conclusion. In addition, even if the radio waves radiated by mobile phones can cause air ionization, since its power is extremely small (no more than a few watts), the amount of ionization is very low, which is also not enough to cause conduction. The laser-induced lightning that has been successfully tested now is based on the conduction of plasma formed by heating the air with the laser, not simple ionization.
If, as reported by Beijing media, electromagnetic waves conduct electricity and are equivalent to lightning rods, then TV transmission towers, radars, mobile base stations, etc. that are erected high up, with high frequency and high power, wouldn’t every lightning strike? ? Each sentry post set up by the Great Wall Management Office will be equipped with stretchers and walkie-talkies to deal with emergencies. Among emergency measures, walkie-talkies are stronger than the radio signals emitted by mobile phones. Are they not afraid of causing lightning and injuring lives? This unjustifiable explanation has been published in newspapers and widely disseminated on the Internet. It is impossible to find out what role it will play and how helpful it will be in improving the scientific quality of the people.
It is reported that the Beijing Great Wall Management Office believes that the location of installing lightning rods on the Great Wall has been verified by experts. The Juyongguan Great Wall has installed 13 lightning rods and passed the annual inspection on April 12 this year. The location of the No. 8 watchtower where the accident occurred was not at the highest level, so it was not installed. ("Beijing News") Whether to install a lightning protection device is usually considered based on the probability and importance of the protected object being struck by lightning. For example, if the probability of a lightning strike is less than once in 100 years, private houses may not be fortified when conditions are difficult, but ammunition depots must be fortified. Generally speaking, objects with large height, sharp edges and corners and good grounding have a higher probability of lightning strike, and vice versa. But being lower doesn't mean you won't be struck by lightning. Murphy's Law states that if an event can happen, it will happen someday. The implication is that even low-probability events may occur. An example of this is the lightning that sometimes occurs in cities and strikes the middle of a high tower (scientifically called lightning strike). As we all know, the protective range of a lightning rod is an umbrella-shaped area underneath it. The No. 8 watchtower where the accident occurred is not within the protection range of the lightning rod. Although the terrain is not high, the probability of lightning strike is by no means 0, and there is a possibility of being struck by lightning. The lightning strike accident that occurred this time was a normal weather phenomenon and had no connection with the old man talking on his mobile phone. If anyone is at fault, it is obviously that lightning protection design standards were not considered enough and lightning protection facilities were not installed. If the failure to install lightning protection facilities on Watchtower No. 8 complies with relevant regulations, then no one is at fault, but the operator of the Great Wall only bears no-fault liability.
Due to factors such as the process of understanding and the limited knowledge of the author, explanations often cannot and do not need to be absolutely accurate, and science does not allow reasonable reasoning. However, the explanation of the lightning strike incident on the Great Wall is an error in basic concepts and principles, and it comes from the mouth of an expert, which cannot but make people feel ashamed. What's more serious is that due to the great social impact of this accident and the extensive publicity and coverage, the wrong explanation has become almost a household name in some areas, and its impact is quite bad.
As scientific workers, especially those who are also responsible for education in universities, being rigorous and realistic is the most basic character. Regardless of whether you have not yet found the correct answer or are under pressure from some aspects, you should treat it with a pragmatic attitude and take the initiative to maintain the dignity of science. Spreading lies with the title of expert is not as easy to expose as saying that one hundred and fifty thousand kilograms per mu is produced, and it is even more misleading.
Communications lightning protection expert: The theory that mobile phones trigger lightning is groundless
2004-09-03 10:23:03 Xinhua Newspaper Network
Xinhua Newspaper Network Yesterday, Nanjing University of Posts and Telecommunications welcomed a group of special guests. They are communication lightning protection experts, scholars and telecom operators from all over the country to participate in the 2004 National Communications Conference Lightning protection technology seminar. Experts say there is no basis for claims that mobile phones cause lightning.
Jiangsu is in an area prone to lightning disasters. On July 30 alone, five people died due to lightning strikes in the province. There are more than 100 TV sets and more than 300 telephones in Jiangyan and Jiangdu cities. Machines, multiple power supply equipment and a large number of communication network equipment were damaged, causing direct economic losses of more than 7 million yuan.
On July 24 this year, dozens of tourists at the Juyongguan section of the Great Wall in Beijing were struck by lightning. Afterwards, everyone speculated that the lightning might have been caused by one of the elderly people using a mobile phone. In this regard, Liu Jike, director of the Post and Telecommunications Design Institute of the Ministry of Information Industry, said that the frequency of lightning is very low, while the frequency of mobile phones is extremely high. Usually, lightning strikes only occur when the frequencies are equivalent. The accident on the Great Wall can be said to be just It was just a coincidence.
Lightning protection experts put forward a new point of view: talking on mobile phones during thunderstorms will not hurt people
2004-09-03 14:03 Source: Xinhua Newspaper Network This newspaper has reported since Juyongguan After the incident where dozens of people were injured while using mobile phones during thunderstorms on the Great Wall spread, using mobile phones during thunderstorms has always been considered a very dangerous thing. However, at the 2004 National Communication Lightning Protection Technology Seminar held in Nanyou yesterday, authoritative experts But he put forward a different point of view: Don’t worry about using your mobile phone during thunderstorms.
Experts say that there is no scientific basis for using mobile phones on rainy days to cause induction mines. The incident of dozens of people being injured while using mobile phones on the Juyongguan Great Wall is just a coincidence. No one can prove that dozens of people were injured while talking on mobile phones. It was indeed caused by talking on the phone during thunder. Dr. Feng Minxue, director of the Jiangsu Provincial Lightning Protection Center, said that during thunder, the magnetic field of mobile phones will change to a certain extent, but it is not enough to cause a threat to the human body. Mobile phones are wireless media with frequencies as high as 900 to 1800 MHz, but the frequency of lightning is only a few tens of MHz, and generally there will be no problems. If we say you cannot use your cell phone during thunder, it simply means that thunder will cause damage to the cell phone itself.