Picnic Awareness: Lightning and Watermelons Do Not Mix

The last week of extreme heat made clear to many of us that summer has officially arrived. And I know what you’re asking yourself at this point — what would happen at my picnic if my watermelon was struck by lightning? Luckily, thanks to electrical engineer Greg Leyh, that question can be answered. Using a 40 kilojoule high voltage capacitor bank, Leyh makes clear everything you need to know about lightning and fruit, in exquisite slow motion. Happy summer.

David Crotty

@davidacrotty

David Crotty is a Senior Consultant at Clarke & Esposito, a boutique management consulting firm focused on strategic issues related to professional and academic publishing and information services. Previously, David was the Editorial Director, Journals Policy for Oxford University Press. He oversaw journal policy across OUP’s journals program, drove technological innovation, and served as an information officer. David acquired and managed a suite of research society-owned journals with OUP, and before that was the Executive Editor for Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, where he created and edited new science books and journals, along with serving as a journal Editor-in-Chief. He has served on the Board of Directors for the STM Association, the Society for Scholarly Publishing and CHOR, Inc., as well as The AAP-PSP Executive Council. David received his PhD in Genetics from Columbia University and did developmental neuroscience research at Caltech before moving from the bench to publishing.