Is it dangerous to use mobile phones in thunderstorm weather?

The British Medical Association warned not to use mobile phones outdoors in thunderstorm weather.

According to Reuters, doctors at Northwick Park Hospital in London have announced that you should not use your mobile phone outdoors in a thunderstorm to avoid being struck by lightning.

It is reported that the hospital recently received a patient who was struck by lightning for using a mobile phone in thunderstorm weather. Although the 15-year-old girl has woken up, experts say she will not fully recover. On the contrary, health problems will always haunt her. Swanda, a famous doctor in the hospital, told the outside world: "This unusual phenomenon has become a problem related to public health. It is necessary to strengthen public education and emphasize the danger of using mobile phones outdoors in rainy days to avoid more serious harm in the future. " In an interview with the British Medical Journal, he said: "Once a person is struck by lightning, the skin can spread current all over the body in an instant. However, if something like a mobile phone touches the skin, it will increase the chance of internal injuries. "

On June 25, 2006, the British Medical Association issued a new warning to mobile phone users, if they are not afraid of using mobile phones to cause cancer: mobile phone users should avoid becoming victims of lightning strikes. According to foreign reports, the British Medical Association recently warned that mobile phone users should not use their mobile phones outdoors in thunderstorm weather because of the danger of being struck by lightning. The British Medical Association issued this warning after a 15-year-old girl was struck by lightning for using a mobile phone in the park.

Experts from the British Medical Association pointed out that although the use of mobile phones will not "attract" lightning, it may indeed make users suffer from lightning strikes. Usually, when struck by lightning, the high resistance of human skin will make the lightning "cross" the human body, forming a so-called "flying arc", so that people may not die. However, if people happen to carry metal objects such as mobile phones at that time, they will not be able to produce "flying arcs", and the probability that the human body will bear higher voltages will greatly increase. In China, South Korea and Malaysia, it is not uncommon to be struck by lightning when using a mobile phone outdoors in a thunderstorm.

This is a gross violation of science.

-The cause of the lightning strike on Juyongguan Great Wall announced by Beijing should be described as absurd.

Investigators in our organization

On July 23 this year, the Juyongguan Great Wall in Beijing was struck by lightning, and more than ten tourists, including a foreign tourist, sheltered from the rain at the beacon tower were injured to varying degrees. On July 25, some well-known media in Beijing announced the investigation results of the cause of the accident and determined that the lightning strike was caused by an old man's mobile phone. A newspaper in Beijing reported an expert's opinion: Zhu Pei from the School of Physics, Beijing Institute of Technology, said that mobile phone electromagnetic wave is a good conductor of lightning, and it will form a conductive magnetic field in a humid atmosphere, which is very easy to attract new lightning strikes. "Jinghua Times" reported that according to the layout of lightning protection facilities at the scene, as well as the fact that tourists above and below the lighthouse area where tourists were struck by lightning were not struck by lightning, and the use of mobile phones by tourists at the time of the incident, experts believe that the use of mobile phones to induce lightning in thunderstorm weather is the main reason why tourists were struck by lightning.

We believe that this seemingly logical conclusion is actually seriously lacking in scientific basis, and some explanations have reached absurd levels. Anyone with common knowledge of lightning knows that induced lightning is the secondary effect of lightning. When lightning occurs, tens of thousands of amperes of current pass through the discharge channel, and the current duration is extremely short and the change speed is extremely fast. This rapidly changing current will produce electromagnetic waves with a wide frequency range. The common electromagnetic induction lightning is formed because the magnetic field and electromagnetic wave generated by lightning induce high voltage in nearby conductors. The lightning strike of Juyongguan Great Wall described by Jinghua Times is a lightning strike directly on the beacon tower, which belongs to direct lightning strike, and the current hurts insiders. In lightning protection terminology, this is called direct lightning strike. This lightning strike has nothing to do with induction lightning. There is no scientific basis for saying that induction lightning attacks tourists. If the report quotes the words of experts, then experts have made very inappropriate mistakes in basic concepts.

Experts from Beijing Institute of Technology claim that mobile phone electromagnetic wave is a good conductor of lightning, which has no scientific basis. People with high school education should understand that air is usually insulated. Lightning is an atmospheric discharge, because the extremely high voltage exceeds the tolerance of air, which leads to air breakdown and discharge. Electromagnetic wave itself is not a medium, so it can't be described as conductive or nonconductive at all. Experts say that the electromagnetic wave of mobile phone is a conductor, that is, the donkey's lips are not right for the horse's mouth, making a shameful conceptual mistake. To take a step back, if you think that electromagnetic waves cause air ionization and conduction, can the conclusion be established? Physics tells us that whether electromagnetic wave can ionize gas depends on whether the energy of this electromagnetic wave is high enough. Physics in senior high school emphasizes that the energy of electromagnetic wave is related to its frequency. The higher the frequency, the greater the energy. As we all know, light waves are also electromagnetic waves, but the frequency is much higher than radio waves. If the radio waves radiated by mobile phones can ionize the air, then light waves can also cause lightning strikes. This will lead to an absurd conclusion. In addition, even if the radio waves radiated by mobile phones will cause air ionization, the ionization amount is too low to cause conduction because of its extremely small power (not exceeding a few watts). The laser-induced lightning that has been successfully tested is based on plasma conduction formed by laser heating air, rather than simple ionization.

If, as reported by Beijing media, electromagnetic waves conduct electricity, which is equivalent to a lightning rod, then every lightning will strike high-frequency and high-power equipment such as TV towers, radars and mobile base stations. Every sentry taken by the Great Wall Management Office will be equipped with stretchers and walkie-talkies to deal with emergencies. In this emergency measure, the walkie-talkie has a stronger radio signal than the mobile phone. Aren't they afraid of lightning damage? This inexplicable explanation is widely circulated in newspapers and the Internet. It is impossible to know what role it will play and how much it will help improve the scientific quality of the people.

It is reported that the Beijing Great Wall Management Office believes that where to install lightning rods on the Great Wall has been demonstrated by experts. The Juyongguan Great Wall has installed three lightning rods 13, which passed the annual inspection on April 12 this year. The No.8 enemy building in the accident was not located at the highest end, so it was not installed. (Beijing News) Whether to set up lightning protection devices is usually based on the probability and importance of the protected object being struck by lightning. For example, houses with a lightning strike probability of less than 1000 can be undefended when conditions are difficult, and ammunition depots must be fortified. Generally speaking, objects with high height, sharp corners and good grounding have a high probability of being struck by lightning, and vice versa. But low doesn't mean it won't be struck by lightning. Murphy's law shows that events will happen one day if possible. The implication is that small probability events may also occur. An example is that sometimes lightning strikes the middle of a tall tower in a city (scientifically called lightning shielding failure). As we all know, the protection range of lightning rod is an umbrella area below it. The No.8 enemy building where the accident happened is not within the protection scope of lightning rod. Although the terrain is not high, the probability of being struck by lightning is by no means equal to zero, and it is possible to be struck by lightning. This lightning accident is a normal weather phenomenon and has nothing to do with the old man's cell phone call. If anyone is at fault, it is obviously that lightning protection design standards have not been considered enough and lightning protection facilities have not been installed. If the watchtower No.8 is not equipped with lightning protection facilities according to the relevant regulations, then no one is at fault, but the Great Wall operator will bear the liability without fault.

Because of the process of understanding and the writer's limited knowledge, it is often impossible and unnecessary to make an absolutely accurate interpretation, and science does not allow reasonable reasoning. However, the explanation of the lightning strike on the Great Wall is a mistake in basic concepts and principles, and it comes from the mouth of experts, which makes people feel ashamed. What's more, due to the huge social impact of the accident, a large number of publicity reports and misinterpretations are almost household names in some areas, and the impact is quite bad. As a scientist, especially a scientist who also undertakes the task of education in university, being rigorous and realistic is the most basic character. Whether we have not found the correct answer for the time being or are under pressure from some aspects, we should treat it with a realistic attitude and take the initiative to safeguard the dignity of science. Spreading lies in the name of experts is not as easy to be exposed as one hundred and fifty, and it is more misleading.

Communication lightning protection expert: the theory of mobile phone lightning is groundless

Xinhua newspaper network

Yesterday, Nanjing University of Posts and Telecommunications welcomed a group of special guests, who are communication lightning protection experts, scholars and telecom operators from all over the country to participate in the 2004 national seminar on communication lightning protection technology. Experts say that the argument that mobile phones attract thunder is groundless.

Jiangsu is in a lightning disaster-prone area. On July 30th alone, five people in the province were killed by lightning. Jiangyan, Jiangdu and other places 100 more than 300 televisions, telephones, power supply equipment and a large number of communication network equipment were damaged, resulting in direct economic losses of more than 7 million yuan.

On July 24th this year, dozens of tourists from Juyongguan Great Wall in Beijing were struck by lightning. Afterwards, everyone speculated that one of the old people might have used his mobile phone to attract lightning. In this regard, Liu, dean 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 frequency is equivalent. The accident on the Great Wall is just a coincidence.

Lightning protection experts put forward a new point: using mobile phones in rainy days won't hurt people.

2004-09-03 14: 03 Source: Xinhua News Network Since the news spread that dozens of people were injured when the Juyongguan Great Wall thundered, it has been considered very dangerous to use mobile phones in thunderous weather. However, at the 2004 national seminar on lightning protection technology of communication held in Nanyou yesterday, authoritative experts put forward different views: don't worry about using mobile phones in rainy days.

Experts said that there is no scientific basis for using mobile phones to induce lightning in rainy days, and it is only a coincidence that dozens of people were injured by using mobile phones in Juyongguan Great Wall. No one can prove that dozens of people were injured with their mobile phones when it thundered. Dr. Feng, director of Jiangsu Lightning Protection Center, said that when it thunders, the magnetic field of mobile phones will change to some extent, but it is not enough to pose a threat to people's health. Mobile phone is a wireless medium, the frequency is as high as 900 to 1800 MHz, while the frequency of lightning is only tens of MHz, so there is generally no problem. If the phone can't talk when it thunders, it only means that it will damage the phone itself.