Lightning. It strikes

[Wafflewaffle]

Pretty hard i might add.

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This is the first time one of my buildings has been hit and burned during a storm... EVER! And man watching it burn while monsters are spawning around my base during the day its pretty terrifying. Probably never felt so intimidated by fire before and its pretty cool that it didnt burned the whole thing down. I will fix it but having to build all of it would be kinda bad =P

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[FlowerChild]

And now we know why lightning rods are a good thing :)

[TheGatesofLogic]

General question here: I'm not sure how many people here ACTUALLY know how lightning rods work, since most people believe they are meant to attract lightning (I find it funny how many people think they know exactly how lightning rods work, when in reality it works exactly opposite of that) so my question is this: Do lightning rods in BTW repel lightning like they do IRL, or do they attract lightning like how most people think lightning rods work, despite being completely and totally wrong?

[DNoved1]

I just build with all my stuff out of cactus, that way it's completely safe.

Also, regardless of how lighting rods interact with lightning though, they do prevent it from starting fires, which is what is important, no?

[TheGatesofLogic]

not necessarily, what if i wanted to make a mob trap with lightning as the killing mechanism? how would i do this without knowing which way it goes? >:) no, i'm just curious, and i really do think that if a lightning rod is attached to wood that it should start a fire at the base if it does attract lightning, would seem a bit off otherwise, but if it does indeed repel lightning like it should then all is good!

[FlowerChild]

They attract and dissipate lightning that would otherwise have struck in a radius around them. Any difference from the consensus reality is easily explained through the SFS in their recipe (which is one of the reasons I made that change).

Souls explain everything :)

Remember man, this is BTW, not KSP. I still consider realism to be a dirty word in game design, except for very specific types of games (KSP being a very interesting case in that regard as it straddles the line between simulator and game). In a case like this, especially when magic is involved, something working in the fashion most people expect it to work is more important than whether it simulates reality.

In other words, don't go all physicist on me with BTW man, because I will truly not give a fuck :)

Also, even on the basis of realism: Wikipedia strongly disagree with what you're saying above, so I'd suggest you take it up with them:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lightning_rod

I actually added souls to the recipe specifically to explain the lack of a ground.

[userzero]

Lightning rods are designed to be the shortest path from ground to the air above so as to avoid damage to whatever they are near. Basically they need to be the most attractive (lowest resistance) path for the current. I have seen lightning rods that are designed to repel or more precisely prevent lightning in an area by preventing the surface charge from connecting to the air above, but they are extremely expensive (like over 30k for a small one), and I'm not entirely sold on their effectiveness, in theory they should work but in reality it's hard to account for every variable and I would be reluctant to try and protect anything with them when a traditional lightning rod is dirt cheap and works.

[TheGatesofLogic]

They attract and dissipate lightning that would otherwise have struck in a radius around them. Any difference from the consensus reality is easily explained through the SFS in their recipe (which is one of the reasons I made that change).

Souls explain everything :)

Remember man, this is BTW, not KSP. I still consider realism to be a dirty word in game design, except for very specific types of games (KSP being a very interesting case in that regard as it straddles the line between simulator and game). In a case like this, especially when magic is involved, something working in the fashion most people expect it to work is more important than whether it simulates reality.

In other words, don't go all physicist on me with BTW man, because I will truly not give a fuck :)

Also, even on the basis of realism: Wikipedia strongly disagree with what you're saying above, so I'd suggest you take it up with them:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lightning_rod

I actually added souls to the recipe specifically to explain the lack of a ground.

no, i figured, it didn't actually matter to me which way they functioned, i just was curious which way they functioned in the mod. To be totally honest, something that attracts such a dangerous force like lightning is far cooler than the alternative, but alas that is not reality.

Lightning rods are designed to be the shortest path from ground to the air above so as to avoid damage to whatever they are near. Basically they need to be the most attractive (lowest resistance) path for the current. I have seen lightning rods that are designed to repel or more precisely prevent lightning in an area by preventing the surface charge from connecting to the air above, but they are extremely expensive (like over 30k for a small one), and I'm not entirely sold on their effectiveness, in theory they should work but in reality it's hard to account for every variable and I would be reluctant to try and protect anything with them when a traditional lightning rod is dirt cheap and works.

please guys, take a moment to step back and realize that that particular wikipedia page fails to actually address the process of a lightning strike in the vicinity of a lightning rod. It doesn't even properly explain why a lightning rod ought to be a thin tower. When a thin tower of conductive material is grounded to the Earth, it experiences a slight negative electrostatic charge near the very top of the tower. This negative charge is the PRIMARY method a lightning rod uses in the lightning protection system. WHEN THAT FAILS, then the job of the lightning rod is to redirect that current to ground. and how the HELL are lightning rods dirt cheap??? the base size of a lightning rod is a MINIMUM of a 2 foot diameter solid conducting pole, else the rod can flash vaporize when struck by a high energy bolt. the only reason lightning rods are used in large buildings is because they are comparatively cheap due to the steel frame of the buildings being sufficiently large to direct such incredibly high currents. The cheaper ones you see today are actually just rods that ignore the secondary purpose and instead focus on preventing a lightning strike. Also: i will totally agree with you that forced-ionization lightning protection systems are not worth the money

[erikdk321]

Can you use lightning rods to farm chargedcreepers?

[FlowerChild]

Can't say I really care how "real" lightning rods work, nor is it related to the mod, so please take it to off-topic if it's something of great interest to you.

[Dorugami]

Can you use lightning rods to farm chargedcreepers?

Why in all unholy manner of hobbies would you want to farm charged green dicks. I mean I can understand keeping it as a cool looking pet, but I don't know any rare drop that would justify farming them.

P.S. To OP, how did the fire persist? Most lightning I get gets extinguished near instantaneously by rain.

[erikdk321]

The fire might have gone through the roof and started the fire from the inside.

[erikdk321]

Why wouldn't i wanna farm them? I have heard electrified-creeper-ball-sacks should taste really good :)

[0player]

please guys, take a moment to step back and realize that that particular wikipedia page fails to actually address the process of a lightning strike in the vicinity of a lightning rod. It doesn't even properly explain why a lightning rod ought to be a thin tower. When a thin tower of conductive material is grounded to the Earth, it experiences a slight negative electrostatic charge near the very top of the tower. This negative charge is the PRIMARY method a lightning rod uses in the lightning protection system. WHEN THAT FAILS, then the job of the lightning rod is to redirect that current to ground. and how the HELL are lightning rods dirt cheap??? the base size of a lightning rod is a MINIMUM of a 2 foot diameter solid conducting pole, else the rod can flash vaporize when struck by a high energy bolt. the only reason lightning rods are used in large buildings is because they are comparatively cheap due to the steel frame of the buildings being sufficiently large to direct such incredibly high currents. The cheaper ones you see today are actually just rods that ignore the secondary purpose and instead focus on preventing a lightning strike. Also: i will totally agree with you that forced-ionization lightning protection systems are not worth the money

Quoth the wikipedia page:

A controversy over the assortment of operation theories dates back to the 18th century, when Franklin himself stated that his lightning protectors protected buildings by dissipating electric charge. He later retracted the statement, stating that the device's exact mode of operation was something of a mystery at that point.
Originally, scientists believed that such a lightning protection system of air terminals and "downleads" directed the current of the lightning down into the earth to be "dissipated". However, high speed photography has clearly demonstrated that lightning is actually composed of both a cloud component and an oppositely charged ground component. During "cloud-to-ground" lightning, these oppositely charged components usually "meet" somewhere in the atmosphere well above the earth to equalize previously unbalanced charges. The heat generated as this electrical current flows through flammable materials is the hazard which lightning protection systems attempt to mitigate by providing a low-resistance path for the lightning circuit. No lightning protection system can be relied upon to "contain" or "control" lightning completely (nor thus far, to prevent lightning strikes entirely), but they do seem to help immensely on most occasions of lightning strikes.

So, it addresses this pretty well.

[TheGatesofLogic]

please realize that was not what i meant in the slightest

on a more related note in an effort to stay on topic: Ever sheared a charged creeper? THAT was a fun experience

[Dorugami]

please realize that was not what i meant in the slightest

on a more related note in an effort to stay on topic: Ever sheared a charged creeper? THAT was a fun experience

Sounds like a worthwhile endeavor. Now please excuse me while I attempt to attach a lightning rod to a creeper.

[JakeZKAM]

So how do people normally build their lightning rods? Does the size of the rod matter, do you need to place one on every building, how much of a range is it? I'm extra paranoid now about all my tall flammable buildings :(

[FlowerChild]

So how do people normally build their lightning rods? Does the size of the rod matter, do you need to place one on every building, how much of a range is it? I'm extra paranoid now about all my tall flammable buildings :(

Stack size doesn't matter...at least with lightning rods. That's strictly an aesthetic thing.

And yes, I won't specify the exact radius, but if your buildings are fairly spread out with wooden roofs, you'll need multiple rods. The radius is a good size though, so you don't need to go nuts on it.

Fires that actually catch due to lightning strikes are extremely rare, due to the rain putting them out most times, but they do happen on occasion. The main danger from lightning is to wind mills and water wheels.

Those aside though, it's the kind of thing that happens so rarely you can probably repair the damage that might occur more easily than it would take you to provide complete lightning rod coverage to your base. I certainly wouldn't stress out too much over it.

[MoRmEnGiL]

Then again, late game you can have fun with weather detectors and retractable rods using block dispensers.

Rain starts, and steel pinpricks come out. ;)

I think having an abundance of resources is sometimes more fun than early/mid game.

(I'm planning to have the aerial walkways of my base dark in day, and illuminated by hibachis turned on during night. Whoo hoo. :P)

[Wafflewaffle]

And now we know why lightning rods are a good thing :)

I guess it was a good idea building the roof a lot higher then the windmill i guess
I need to get off my ass and leave the confort zone of renewable iron =P

The fire might have gone through the roof and started the fire from the inside.

Yeap the tower roasted from inside out. I never actually controlled the fire it burned the roof enough to let the rain in, avoinding total damage to the building.