In 1820, William Snow Harris invented a system of fixed lightning conductor plates which were routed along the the aft side of the mast down through the hull to the copper sheathing on the bottom of the ship. Harris spent the next twenty-five years trying to persuade the British Admiralty to test his system and require its installation. For years, old prejudices against lightning conductors, notions of economy, and bureaucratic suspicions of technological innovation frustrated his efforts. It took a successful trial installation on eleven ships, an extensive campaign by Harris to publicize the extent of lightning damage to the navy, the favorable recommendations of two study committees, and administrative changes in the Admiralty before the Royal Navy finally adopted the Harris conductors in 1842.


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    Title :

    Protecting the Royal Navy from lightning-William Snow Harris and his struggle with the British Admiralty for fixed lightning conductors


    Additional title:

    William Snow Harris und sein Kampf mit der Britischen Admiralitaet um die Beleuchtung von Schiffen mit fixen Lichtleitplatten


    Contributors:

    Published in:

    Publication date :

    1978


    Size :

    8 Seiten, 26 Quellen



    Type of media :

    Article (Journal)


    Type of material :

    Print


    Language :

    English




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