Can I safely watch thunderstorm/lightning from my outside balcony?
554049
It depends on how high up you are in your apartment complex. So long as you are not the top floor or two then you are ok in that respect. make sure that you are not standing in water, that you have rubber shoes on and that you aren't touching anything metal. of course this is all just to be on the safe side just to make sure that a positive spike doesn't come off of you and try to connect with a bolt.\n\nI am an amateur photographer and have stood out in open fields taking pictures of lighting from storms 5-30 miles away. It's all in a matter of how safe you feel. I have had some REALLY close calls. If your hair ever starts to stand up drop to the ground FAST and roll away from whatever you are next to.
725819
Go here to check if you can receive Freeview\n\nhttp://www.freeview.co.uk/availability\n\nand here for information  about aerials\n\nhttp://www.freeview.co.uk/help/reception-viewing/q2
443456
It could follow metallic vent pipes (and wiring too) into the house.  But you standing in water or not is just an accident of being near the vent pipes for the shower.  You could be washing your hands just as easily or touching an electric appliance where the lightning has come down an antenna wire or such.
1020968
There is a way to coax lightening to strike a given location, but the problem with controlling it is that the storm which is producing it is moving.  One good strike does pack a wallop, but to convert water into a usefull amount of steam would take many strikes hitting a target over a period of time.  Hence the problem with the moving storm.
108122
http://science.howstuffworks.com/lightning.htm
35715
Check http://www.wunderground.com/sky/index.asp
134155
Put a TV, and computer monitor on the ceiling.\njust kidding, roll over to the nearest light source and turn it off and on at a constant rate.  hopefully someone will see it through a window.
802400
sure, i like thunderstorms
858637
hmm...surge somewhere.  Could be very dangerous, though.  Call electrician tomorrow.
1132815
This is taken from an article I used with my earth science students.\n\nOver 1,000 people get struck by lightning every year in the United States, and over 100 of them die as a result of the strike. Lightning is not something to toy with. \nIf you are caught outside in a storm, always look for appropriate shelter. Do not take any chances -- lightning can use you as a path to the earth just as easily as it can use any other object. Appropriate shelter would be a building or a car. If you do not have anywhere to go, then you should avoid taking shelter under trees. Trees attract lightning. Put your feet as close together as possible and crouch down with your head as low as possible without touching the ground. \n\nNever lay down on the ground. After lightning strikes the ground, there is an electric potential that radiates outward from the point of contact. If your body is in this area, current can flow through you. You never want the current to have the ability to pass through your body. This could cause cardiac arrest, not to mention other organ damage and burns. By making your body as low to the ground as possible and minimizing the amount of your body in contact with the ground, you can lower the possibility of a lightning-related injury. If a strike were to occur near you, the current would have a much more difficult time flowing through your body in this position. \n\nIf you are indoors, stay off the phone. If you must call someone, use a cordless phone or cell phone. If lightning strikes the phone line, the strike will travel to every phone on the line (and potentially to you if you are holding the phone). \n\nStay away from plumbing pipes (bath tub, shower). Lightning has the ability to strike a house or near a house and impart an electrical charge to the metal pipes used for plumbing. This threat is not as great as it used to be, because PVC (polyvinyl chloride) is often used for indoor plumbing these days. If you are not sure what your pipes are made of, wait it out.\n\nA couple of misconceptions:\nRubber tires keep you safe in a car because they do not conduct electricity.\nNope. In strong electric fields, rubber tires actually become more conductive than insulating. The reason you are safe in a car is because the lightning will travel around the surface of the vehicle and then go to ground. This occurs because the vehicle acts like a Faraday cage. Michael Faraday, a British physicist, discovered that a metal cage would shield objects within the cage when a high potential discharge hit the cage. The metal, being a good conductor, would direct the current around the objects and discharge it safely to the ground. This process of shielding is widely used today to protect the electrostatic sensitive integrated circuits in the electronics world. \n\nThe tallest objects in a storm always get struck by lightning.\nIt's true that taller objects are closer to the clouds, but as discussed previously, lightning can strike the ground at a close distance to a tall object. Taller objects may have a higher possibility of a strike, but where lightning is concerned, the strike path is not predictable.
442296
Actually, in the great outdoors, it doesn't really matter where you are.  You may be sheltered from the rain, but lightning is always another factor.  Though the chances of you (yourself) being struck by lightning is very slim to none...you can't rule out the possibility of it striking a tree, for example, and running through the ground and hitting you that way.\n\nThey say that the best thing to do while camping and sheltering in a tent is NOT to lay down to avoid exposure to ground currents.  You also want to be away from the tallest things around you, however, you do not want to be the tallest thing around.  If you are in an exposed site (i.e.no trees)that would make your tent probably the tallest thing around you.  In which case you should abandon everything and get somewhere (such as your car) that provides better shelter.
212776
If you're asking if you can buy (or build) systems to fire your fireworks electrically, then the answer is yes. You can get either wired or wireless systems that can fire either electric matches (tiny chips coated with compound that burst into flame when electricity is run through them) or wrapped wire (basically, nichrome wire wrapped around the firework's fuse).\n\nBelow are some links that should be helpful :
337548
Unless you have a surge protector and a backup system, it isn't recommended to leave your computer on. If lightning strikes, it can fry out the electronics in your computer.
614382
Depends on the weather; I'm not flying a kite in the middle of a thunderstorm whilst wearing copper shorts and shouting "God is a wanker". That would not be wise...
10241
Skyscrapers are prone to lightning strikes that could cause damage if not safely conducted to ground.  The mast on the Empire State Building in NYC is apt to be struck more than once in a single storm.  The grounding system must be operable at all times therefore it is unlikely that the lightning that is grounded could be put to useful work.  Also, the lightning voltage is highly variable and may be as strong as 6,000 Volts.  Electric charge dissipated to ground on a clear day would also be lost.  Incidentally, the sky may have both positive and negatively charged clouds since lightning strikes from cloud-to-cloud are common.  Charge is a relative thing.  Airplanes are also struck while passing between clouds and must be able to conduct electrical surges across movable airfoils to avoid welding hinges in a fixed position.  Conducting cables or straps are used in some applications.\n\nAdded 12/21/05.  Actually atmospheric charge does cause a current to ground and also along a power transmission line, especially as a result of sunspots and ionization of air.  An electrical engineer buddy told me that it was a great nusiance affecting global communication by cable and causing power grid outages.  I imagine that the power could be arrested and utilized but is not cost effective or steady enough to count on.  Still someone may find a way.  As you say it is free although the equipment may be costly.  Good luck.
564120
Lightning strikes can travel large distances along wires since wires are made to conduct electricity really well.\n\nTherefore, there is an increased danger to using anything plugged into the wall by cords of any type.  This includes the phone, computer (unless on a wireless laptop), or even the sink (water also conducts electricity quite well along pipes).\n\nNow, the danger isn't extreme.  I can't give you specific numbers, but I do not believe that many people are hurt each year by lightning strikes.  Surge protectors do offer electronics some protection from overload... but can't protect you if a large enough surge comes through the line to fry you.  Generally only very nearby strikes are dangerous.\n\nMy own personal advice: don't worry too much about electrocution from thunderstorms when inside unless the storm is abnormally frequent when it comes to lightning.  It's a choice you make.  Even in a "safe room" you are still in some danger of a direct lightning strike.  Life is short and you should live it.\nHOWEVER, that's my opinion, and playing it safe is never bad.  Each strike is a small gamble... and some people do end up losing.\n\nHere's a bit more info on indoor lightning safety from the National Weather Service:\nhttp://www.lightningsafety.noaa.gov/indoors.htm\n\nI wish you well,\nGod bless,\nShane
196933
Cablevision on Long Island has a great safety manual. Maybe they will give/sell you one.