Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 94: Jul-Aug 1994 Issue Contents

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Horse sense?

Writing to Weather in connection with an earlier letter regarding the possible stalling of a car due to lightning (SF#90), P.F. Borrows recounted a pertinent incident involving horses and lightning:

"I was driving from Aylesbury to High Wycombe via Hampden during a thunderstorm. On an open hillside to the north of the valley, two horses were quietly grazing when suddenly, for no obvious reason, they bolted to the far end of the field. Within about 15 seconds of them moving, there was a lightning strike at the point where they had been standing. How interesting to reflect that more modern means of transport may also be able to detect the highly charged atmospheric state, but appear to be immobilised rather than spurred to self-preservation."

(Borrows, P.F.; "Horses Bolt, Spurred by Lightning," Weather, 48:161, 1993.)

From Science Frontiers #94, JUL-AUG 1994. © 1994-2000 William R. Corliss

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Science Frontiers Sourcebook Project Reviewed in: Icarus: Volume 41, Issue 3, p. 470-470 1984, Vol.56:3, P.615 1983, Vol.58:3 June 1984, Vol.60:3 Dec 1984, Vol.72:3 Dec 1987 Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada, Vol. 81, no. 1 1987 American Journal of Physics, Volume 52, Issue 8, p. 764 August 1984 Quotes "Before opening the book, I set certain standards that a volume which treads into dangerous grounds grounds like this must meet. The author scrupulously met, or even exceeded those standards. Each phenomenon is exhaustively documented, with references to scientific journals [..] and extensive quotations" -- "Book Review: The moon and planets: a catalog of astronomical anomalies", The Sourcebook Project, 1985., Corliss, W. R., Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada>, Vol. 81, no. 1 (1987), p. 24., 02/1987