Lightning protection.

An article about lightning safety brought up a question. Cars have been a safe place in a thunderstorm because of the faraday cage effect of all the metal around you. Aptera is mostly composite which tends to explode or puncture when struck by lightning. On aircraft we have bonding straps on the composite structures to hopefully channel lightning around the composite to the metal structure and out the static wicks. Will the solar cells and associated wiring serve a similar purpose on the Aptera, or do we need to consider some kind of bonding straps incorporated into the structure to channel a potential lightning strike around the passengers. On the flip side, not so sure lightning could work as an alternative rapid charging scheme 🤔.

9 comments

9 Comments

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neomaxcom

Aug 04, 2021

I'd be more concerned about driving into a tornado because the aerodynamics masks the turbulence ahead.

zajethesage

Aug 04, 2021

Replying to

But I would still prefer being in the Aptera than any other vehicle if I was to make that mistake.

spacepilot

Jul 30, 2021

http://lightningsafety.com/nlsi_pls/vehicle_strike.html

dtmattijetz

Jul 15, 2021

Wow, maybe we can get it to power the flux capacitor.

spacepilot

Jul 15, 2021

Replying to

Now you are talking efficiency. You could arrive at your destination before you depart.

Brad Nelson

Jul 14, 2021

I think the fact that there's very little exposed metal on the vehicle, combined with the fact that it's sitting on three chunks of rubber (a great insulator), and that it's probably never going to be the tallest, most conductive thing around...and you'll probably never get hit.

spacepilot

Jul 15, 2021

Replying to

Old cotton, Fiberglass, or polyester cord tires were a pretty good insulator. Steel belted tires are actually not that good a lightning insulator, the lightning jumps from the rim to the bead, out the steel cord, and down close enough to the ground to complete the circuit. The tire usually blows up. Your protection in the car comes from the steel cage around you channeling the current around the outside.

The Aptera has solar cells and associated wiring all over the top surfaces, and hopefully the associated wiring could handle most of the load, but where from there?

I don’t know where you live, I live in Colorado where lightning is a thing, and these cars are going to be used in all kinds of climates, so I think lightning is a valid consideration for the engineers to consider. I trust them to determine if the car would present a tempting target for lightning, and if so how to mitigate the risk.

don

Jul 14, 2021

I'm 78, never been hit, never known of anyone being hit, and don't worry about lightning. That would change if I move to FL.

spacepilot

Jul 15, 2021

Replying to

You say you’ve never been struck, good on you. I’ve been struck while flying an airplane (which was properly designed to handle it), and my wife caught the fringe of a bolt that blew up a tree just down the hill from her when out hiking, so it is a consideration for us. Lightning is a thing here in Colorado.