we had a storm on thursday (melbourne). well when we got home our power was out so i went the power box and the main cicuit breaker switch was off. so i went inside and looked around for anything dangerous before i turned it back on. we have this pool change room in our backyard with a light in it connected to a proper light switch. when i walked in there the light bulb was black and the switch had black marks around it? so anyway i switched the power back on and went to the room and switched the light on and it made the circuit breaker trip again. what happened? the switch was off so how else would the globe have turned black? is there a posiblity the room was hit by lightning though only the bulb and light switch have damage there is nothing else damaged on the room everything else looks perfect?????????What the hell happened??????Again as I said in your other Question in this case you had a direct hit which fried the circuit breaker and possibly fried the wiring with in the structure.
Remember that Lightning can produce as much as 300,000 amperes and one billion volts!
most house wiring can not withstand that much Electricity.
Here are some good links about Lightning for you to check out.
Lightning Information
http://www.srh.noaa.gov/srh/jetstream/li
http://www.nssl.noaa.gov/primer/lightnin
http://newweb.wrh.noaa.gov/hnx/Lightning
http://library.thinkquest.org/03oct/0075
http://www.ucar.edu/communications/infop
http://www.srh.weather.gov/srh/jetstream
http://www.lightningmaster.com/FAQ.htm
http://www.ourbetternature.org/lightning
http://www.harkphoto.com/light.html
I hope this helps
I am a U.S. National Severe Weather Spotter for the U.S. National Weather Service ID# TW-001-WAWhat the hell happened??????Seems like there could have been a fire or lightning strike on power lines or somewhere extremely close to your house. You really need to stop flippin switches and MAKE SURE there were no stikes, look on roof and lines. Turn of breaker to that area and see if it still trips. Electricity is not something to play with.What the hell happened??????The circuit breaker tripped so that your house did not catch on fire. Somewhere in the wiring, electricity is allowed to escape to quickly, probably due to damage. Call an electrician before you hurt yourself.What the hell happened??????My friend, sorry, i am not answer...
Answer
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;What the hell happened??????Replace the wiring in the room if you don't feel comfortable with it. change the bulb, and check the breaker switchWhat the hell happened??????the light bulb probably blew out and caused the power to be cut off plus the storm didnt help at all.What the hell happened??????spookyWhat the hell happened??????weirdWhat the hell happened??????Something similar happened to me years ago. In your case, I think lightning - or part of it - went into your electrical wiring then exited through the bulb and to the ground. The fact that the switch was off doesn't mean anything; the high tension in the lightning bolt makes it jump a switch very easily.
As an example, if you have a ham radio mast (one of my hobby) or if you have a sailboat (another of my hobbies) you can protect your masts from lightning by having a wire going down to the earth but with a gap in between so that the mast is not electrically grounded and interfere with the radio signals.
For example, in my sailboat where the aluminium mast steps through the cabin and rests in the keel, a copper bolt connects it with a slight gap to a bolt of the keel. The mast is not earthed (I also use my ham radio on board as LA0HA/MM, the MM stands for maritime mobile). yet it will lead a lightning bolt with no problem ... which has already happened at the only cost of the need for a new VHF antenna.
In my home, I once saw an entirely blacked out output socket; the one outside the house that we use e.g. for Christmas lights or vacuum cleaning the car. I don't know how the lightning came inside the house but I surely could see where it left it!
