Bamboo and Lightning?

Other things that involve bamboo

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hydroid
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Bamboo and Lightning?

Post by hydroid »

Just curious if tall bamboo attracts lightning?
Alan_L
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Re: Bamboo and Lightning?

Post by Alan_L »

I'd think it would be like anything else when it comes to lightning: if it's the tallest thing around (if the grove is in the middle of a big field for instance) then yes, it's probably more likely to attract lightning. If there are taller trees around (like there will always be in my yard) then chances are slim to none that the bamboo will get hit.
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Re: Bamboo and Lightning?

Post by dependable »

This is just a guess, but I would think with hollow internodes, bamboo would be a pretty poor conductor of electricity. I wonder if there have ever been any studies or if there is ancient oriental wisdom on this.
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Re: Bamboo and Lightning?

Post by foxd »

dependable wrote:This is just a guess, but I would think with hollow internodes, bamboo would be a pretty poor conductor of electricity. I wonder if there have ever been any studies or if there is ancient oriental wisdom on this.
I've seen where lightning hit a tree and the current obvously flowed just under the bark since it peeled the bark off all the way to the ground. I would think that a culm hit by lightning would be likely to explode.
Last edited by foxd on Sun Aug 19, 2012 7:29 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Bamboo and Lightning?

Post by Iowaboo »

Maybe attach a kite to one of the culms during a storm
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Re: Bamboo and Lightning?

Post by bamboothew »

Thousands of lightening rods in my yard, another great reason to grow bamboo :-)
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Re: Bamboo and Lightning?

Post by bambambooboo »

Recently two pines in my garden took a hit. Looks like one will survive but the other seems like will be woodpecker food.

I had originally thought that once my taller boos grow, they'd take the hit instead of the pines. Some of the pines here are at about 55 ft tall, including the one hit, and I've got a few boo that should mature significantly higher, including Parker giant, Teddy Bear and Betung Hitam.

So here's the crazy idea I'm flirting with. And I haven't priced it out so I guess I'd compare that to what taking down a tree might cost. (This tree I can leave standing as it won't hit any structures if felled.) What if I attached a lightning rod and cable to boo while sprouting so that as boo grew it would bring lightning rod up 90 feet above the garden?

Now how often will the garden ever get hit; probably this is the first direct hit in decades if not longer.

Just something I'm wondering about. What do the boo people think? Does that sound simply insane or possibly an idea worth considering?
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Re: Bamboo and Lightning?

Post by Tarzanus »

Definitively would like to see the result. :mrgreen:

I guess that it would work and if you manage to put lightning rod on top of bamboo culm (and manage to keep it in upright position), it can attract lightning. Question is, how high you would have to get and how long you would have to wait. :) Not sure about bamboo shoot 'transporting' it all the way up though. Might be easier to somehow bend the bamboo and attach the darn metal thing when the culm is already mature.
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Re: Bamboo and Lightning?

Post by dependable »

If you do this, would like to see a picture. Of course, the grounding rod or array at cable end would be critical for successful function of the rod. As we know, lighting does not so much strike, but is a charge equalization between the earth and the atmosphere.

Tree roots go deep into moist, mineral rich ground, which is probably why they get 'struck' so often.
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Re: Bamboo and Lightning?

Post by oobmab »

Are bamboos like trees in which the nutrients transport only through the thin layer beneath the bark? Or do they transport throughout the whole (vertical) culm structure?
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Re: Bamboo and Lightning?

Post by Tarzanus »

Bamboo is a bit different, because there is no wood in the middle, it has grass-like veins circularly positioned in the culm wall. Very, very simplified.
Bamboo has no secondary xylem an cambium, it has typical grass stem. Growth is by terminal meristem only.

Whole bamboo culm wall has veins that are used to transport nutrients and water from roots to the leaves and back. It should act the same as trees when it comes to 'electrical discharge attractor'. :mrgreen:
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Re: Bamboo and Lightning?

Post by oobmab »

Tarzanus wrote: Whole bamboo culm wall has veins that are used to transport nutrients and water from roots to the leaves and back. It should act the same as trees when it comes to 'electrical discharge attractor'. :mrgreen:
I wonder if the silica carbide in bamboo inhibits electrical conductivity (as compared to trees)?
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Re: Bamboo and Lightning?

Post by Tarzanus »

Works as semiconductor. :mrgreen:
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Re: Bamboo and Lightning?

Post by bambambooboo »

enjoyed reading the fun responses.

found this:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silicon_carbide
...The earliest electrical application of SiC was in lightning arresters in electric power systems. .... When a lightning strike to the line raises the line voltage sufficiently, the SiC column will conduct, allowing strike current to pass harmlessly to the earth instead of along the power line...
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Re: Bamboo and Lightning?

Post by Alan_L »

Didn't the first incandescent light bulbs used carbonized bamboo filaments?
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