We hit a drone with lightning

[@TomScottGo]

The team at the University of Manchester tore down the drone after to see what the damage was, and they've just posted their results: www.mub.eps.manchester.ac.uk/science-engineering/2017/05/11/inside-the-drone/

[@8thy]

Interesting results! I'm surprised how little damage there was externally. Love the videos!

[@MrAntieMatter]

That's very interesting.

[@thrupert]

It may be interesting, MrAntieMatter, but is it Sips O'Clock?

[@manssksvhsushah5128]

Tom Scott o

[@AureliusR]

Should have sent it to mikeselectricstuff ... :P

[@TomScottGo]

I was going to put a complicated title on this, but no. "Drones vs Lightning", and a lightning bolt. That'll do nicely. It's good to be back.

[@MrSkinnyWhale]

hi

[@IconicPhotonic]

Good to see another video from yourself, Tom. Welcome back!

[@Sillimant_]

Tom Scott WELCOME BACK, we missed you and your videos

[@joel30466]

Welcome back

[@WouterWeggelaar]

Tom Scott welcome back Tom. going for the nice and short and suspiciously clickbaity title, and then delivering the goods. well done. now I wont have to try this at home :-)

[@LateNightHacks]

"Don't try this at home" Damn it Tom, I was just about to power up one of my 1M volt lightning generators I have next to my bed and blow up a few drones, I guess I have to shut it down now that you called it....

[@isaacs8783]

LateNightHacks I think he meant fly your drone into lightning

[@LateNightHacks]

but where are you gonna get a lightning at home to fly your drone into? Besides, there is nothing wrong with flying a drone into a lightening as long as you are not holding onto it the whole time

[@casio81234]

'a lightning' hehehe. 1 lightning. 1 singular lightning.

[@LateNightHacks]

yeah, you gotta be specific with these stuff, what if someone mistakenly uses two lightnings instead? that won't be pretty

[@somitomi]

Last week I was reprimanded by the police for electrofelling some trees in my backyard and now this? What's the point of having a lightning generator at this point?

[@JayfeatherFan1000]

To be fair, Tom, if I had a high voltage laboratory at home, you would have a hard time convincing me to NOT try this at home.

[@LerWalters]

The exit point that the lightning took through the landing leg of the drone was caused by the fact that the antenna is actually tucked into the leg.

[@TomScottGo]

There was actually a bit of footage where we talk about that - but there was also another leg with a different wire that was untouched, and no scorch markings -- so we weren't 100% convinced that was the reason, particularly as the bolt ignored the big, obvious block of conductive tape. To be safe, I cut that out!

[@marknelsonmovies6093]

I would Love to see photos of the board, but It might have something to do with with the Receiver (connected to the motors) vs the Video (connected to the camera) antenna? My guess is that the current traveled down the low resistance motor wires to the ESC circuit, and then jumped over into the receiver circuit, and exited through the antenna, a path that was probably still less resistance than the tape. A possible reason the battery wasn't harmed is the circuitry built into most ESCs to protect the battery from any Induced voltage spikes from a motor being suddenly stopped in the event of a crash, which would short out under the high voltage, leaving an electrical path that does not involve the battery. It's probably impossible to completely protect a drone from lightening, since the GPS antenna has to be exposed on the top, and the radio antennas exposed on the bottom. As I'm sure you know, a faraday cage will also block any radio signals, so the antennas couldn't be inside.

[@Electroblud]

Contrary to popular belief, lightning does not always take the shortest path.

[@MrSeon123]

ElectroBlood It takes the path of least resistance?

[@Electroblud]

Nope. The probability that it does take the shortest path is the highest of all paths, but it is by faaaar not guaranteed.

[@mikeselectricstuff]

No Autopsy ?

[@theonlyari]

I think Tom should send it to you for an autopsy. I'd love to see that.

[@TheFrostEngel]

mikeselectricstuff yay Tom should send you the drones for an autopsy!

[@radioactiveduckie111]

It wouldn't surprise me if the huge em induced voltages just fried it, no reason for dji to have put EMC measures into that thing :)

[@ratbag359]

We need Autopsy from you or some one else that knows about electronics.

[@mikeselectricstuff]

Happy to do that - I'd be surprised if there wasn't some visible evidence. What often happens is that the high voltage causes latchup, and the device's own supply does most of the damage.

[@tysonswe]

If I remember correctly, rotors cause a lot of static electricity around themselves when they spin. So they are the most natural connection points since they would already have a high load.

[@ratbag359]

good point i had forgot about that just remembered about helicopters

[@julienparis6933]

"Don't try this at home" There go my plans for this weekend

[@davidford85]

3:26 I'm no expert on lightning (shocking I know), but from conversations with people who install lightning protection systems, and looking at plans for said systems, it's slightly more complicated that just sticking a bit of metal onto whatever your trying to protect. A lightning conductor placed on top of an object, say a church tower, provides a cone of protect from it's tip extending downwards. A lightning rod placed on a church with a tall tower may find the entire building is protected, whereas a lightning rod placed on a church with a short tower may need to have a second conductor placed on the other end of the church. The problem here is your conductor didn't extend far enough up (and presumable similarly down) in order to provide the path of least resistance for the lightning. Now I don't know what calculations and equations are involved in working out the dimensions of an effective lightning conductor, but I would hazard a guess that the conductor would needed to have extend above the drone by at least it's width and probably the same downwards as well. And that's assuming whatever materials you're using was capable of handle the charge... p.s. sorry about the bad pun...

[@SemiCollin]

“Shocking” 😭😭😭

[@bartbatenburg]

photonicinduction must be in love with this tower

[@Midgeto123]

I was thinking the same thing :D

[@Alexr03]

Yep :D

[@36hunters]

He probably has one in his living room

[@kmcat]

he poped it

[@Rebelgium]

Would match his carpet

[@olivlepel]

I would have liked seeing the drone keep on flying, protected by a complete Faraday cage.

[@TomScottGo]

So would I! I was really hoping the conductive tape lightning rod was going to work, but no. (We were worried that if it was any bigger, it would have started to interfere with the rotors or aerodynamics.)

[@banksy9921]

Yeah, you wouldn't want to damage the drone

[@Life4YourGames]

Frying - Okay. But damaging? NO - ABSOLUTELY NOT! xD

[@Encypruon]

The quadrocopter would probably still go down because the magnetic field of the lightning induces enough current in the electronics to cause some problems. Most devices detect that something is not right and reset when this happens. You can actually try this at home with an electric fly swatter and a digital alarm clock. Put the swatter as close as possible to the electronics of the alarm clock (near the display should work fine) and drop a bit of metal in the grid of the swatter while pressing the button. The alarm clock should be able to survive this but behave as if the batteries were taken out and put in again. At lest that's what my alarm clock does :)

[@AdamEspinosa]

Faraday cages protect against magnetism as well.

[@bennylofgren3208]

I am fascinated by the two propellers that went skyward when the lightning struck. Did the motors spin up uncontrollably to the point where the props just let go? That only two propellers left their mount could be because they are counter-rotating (to balance out the torque to stop the drone from rotating the other way), and the other two would then just seat themselves further on the motor shaft.

[@TomScottGo]

Since they're designed to produce lift, as soon as they were disconnected they went skyward on their own. But how they were shaken loose, I've no idea!

[@MattFowlerBTR]

If the motors dead-stopped due to the electrical assault, I could see the props spinning themselves off the now-stationary motor shafts (I believe the Phantom 3 props are spin-off - normally tightened by the drive direction of the motors). The props which rotate "the other way" are also threaded on to the motors the other way (so motor acceleration acts to tighten, not loosen). The newer Phantom 4 prop-mounting uses a bayonet-fitting (push-and-twist) lock so they won't get spun-off.

[@calmatosport]

I agree with Matthew, but what can cause the motors to stop that fast? Is it the magnetic field or the motor bearings welding themselves stuck?

[@andrewrobotbuilder]

My guess is the motors getting suddenly welded. I doubt the magnets within them would react fast enough to the sudden magnetic field change, despite how large it may be. Again, just speculating here.

[@Herdatec]

the rotor and the stator are very close to each other. the closer the better but a high voltage will induce a spark between them and the current will fry and weld them together

[@alexjago51]

"Can store 100,000 volts" So near, and yet so far... :'(

[@nokkonokko]

I knowwwww...

[@mfbfreak]

I was internally screaming 'AND HOW MANY MICROFARAAAAAAADS?!!'

[@eminenception]

what

[@Electroblud]

@@eminenception There is nothing special about being able to store 100kV. I can just take any random two bits of metal and insulate them well enough from each other and boom! Million volt capacitor! However, the capacitor I just built is an absolutely crappy one that will be able to hold next to no charge and really can't be used for anything. So the i interesting bit about those 100kV capacitors that Tom didn't mention is how much ENERGY they can store at 100kV and how quickly they are able to release it.

[@Rainst0rm4759]

It's really cool to see an actual experiment on this show. Good to have you back Tom!

[@unaimb]

This channel deserves all the funding. Imagine how that footage would have looked if only it were filmed on a Phantom camera.

[@tordjarv3802]

As a engineer and a physicist I must correct the flawed usage of units in this video. Capacitors do not store "volts", they store electrical charge which has SI unit Coulomb. Volt is not a unit of energy, however Volt times Coulomb which is Joule is a unit of energy. Because of the linear relation between charge Q and voltage V over the capacitor, Q=CV where C is the capacitance, the stored energy in a capacitor is E=CV^2.

[@musaran2]

The size alone of the capacitors tells me to stay clear.

[@hajfksdl]

Bruno Mailly I agree

[@SkarmoryThePG]

When AIs get sentient and humanity is put on trial, this will be Exhibit A.

[@cosminstefan7614]

SkarmoryThePG ban testing on robots!!!

[@zoicon5]

I was hoping that the drone would become self-aware and refuse to be sent on the suicide mission.

[@jony4real]

Tom pushes the button for the lightning AI: I'm sorry, Tom. I can't allow you to do that. Tom gets lightninged instead

[@osco4311]

I still think the Boston Dynamics robots will riot before there's any chance for a trial.

[@Treekicker]

hahaha no, Boston Dynamics will be

[@parkamark]

"Please, don't try this at home.... if you have a high-voltage laboratory at home." Photonicinduction :)

[@Lizlodude]

this is one of my favorite conclusions yet. "if you're going to fly your drone in a lightning storm, don't."

[@lopsidedhead]

The second shot at 2:20 is so pretty it's now my desktop wallpaper. Great video, Tom!

[@introvertairways]

Drone: *gets struck by lightning* Propellor: “Bro I’m outta here”

[@EdwardTriesToScience]

The scientist has a great accent, fit for science. Irish, british and a tiny australian and austrian.

[@camerastooge]

Wondering -- if the camera was recording to the SD card onboard, would the lightning strike wipe the card, or would you have a video recording up until the point of strike?

[@Scorpionwacom]

Don’t get me wrong-I support science and encourage curiosity. Moreover, I have the same question. But still, I don’t want to waste my quadrocopter like that to find out, whether we’d be able to get the video.

[@GamesFromSpace]

SD cards aren't vulnerable to magnetic fields, generally. But any device will be absolutely ruined if that much current goes through it. An HDD would probably be less vulnerable, due to having a metal enclosure.

[@TheMagnay]

most likely in my opinion if the electricity hit the card then it would just fry it, nothing left to carry electricity yet alone hold data. +joshua HDDs would be destroyed due to the electromagnetic field that the electricity would produce, that would destroy the platter that it's writing to and delete all data.

[@GamesFromSpace]

That's why I said "less vulnerable", not "invulnerable".

[@TheMagnay]

+joshua well no not really, when electricity flows it produces a magnetic field which being so close would reverse the magnetic fields on the platters which will not only destroy data but destroy the platters.

[@LynneSkysong]

Cool! This reminds me of some of the lightning strike protection testing I had to have done several years back, but this is much cooler. (Not sure how much the technology has progressed, but back when I worked with composites, there was the tried method of using metal mesh on the surface for lightning strike protection. We were tries to replace that with a lighter material. Either buckypaper infused with the composites, or a paint that could be later applied.)

[@lottieluna123]

I swear Tom always finds the neatest stuff to do videos on!

[@Stoplookingatmytoes]

This was unbelievably satisfying

[@kaaazzi3365]

Your profile picture doesn't match the comment at all haha

[@hentaigod1963]

Iain Waller THAT WAS UNBELIEVABLY SATISFYING!

[@NigelSavage]

there's an antenna in the foot - the one that's used to communicate with the remote

[@HarryInEdi]

Tom, I really can't believe it. You were a small channel making odd little videos here and there only yesterday. Now you're moving in on a MILLION! Keep up the amazing work!

[@joshuacook2]

You don't store volts. You can store coloumbs, or joules, but not volts. Or, you can store x coloumbs at y volts, with x*y/2 joules of energy.

[@subjectnamehere3023]

I guess they mean it's the highest voltage they can achieve with this set of equipment.

[@WillHirschUK]

It stores charge with the purpose of maintaining a voltage. It's a bit lazy with terminology but with static capacitance voltage and charge are functionally interchangeable so the phrasing is not that egregious IMO.

[@casio81234]

Perhaps it was a simplification, whereby the uninformed viewer may understand the scale of the beast in a format that is understandable by all.

[@somitomi]

The pedant in me would argue, but you're right. I would like to know the rated capacity of those beasts though.

[@PatrickOTreat]

I was also disappointed Tom only gave voltage. Caps are rated for voltage and capacity, give me both numbers dang it!

[@deathab0ve]

I saw this yesterday, but I'm here again because it was in the news feed in google. One of the top 3 stories of the morning. That's pretty cool.

[@chadkrause6574]

The motors got shorted out which puts an electronic brake on them and stops them really fast. The propellors have a screw that is pitched opposite of the direction of the motor spinning forward. So the motors stopped and the propellors kept going and the propellors unscrewed themselves and took off

[@MetaalMeerkat]

Welcome back Tom, hope you feel energized and charged up after your brake.

[@x9x9x9x9x9]

Quite a few years ago (long before drones) I seem to recall a guy launching rockets with a copper wire attached to them into storm clouds to try and get lightning strikes. I would love to see that emulated.

[@romansainz]

Well, as far as I know, the electronic compass is housed in one of the Phantom legs...and obviously there are wires from the compass to the main board....so that would account for the electricity always taking that path. Once is in the board, the motor rods is probably the best route out

[@jeffreygutierrez3194]

0:58 those guys love blowing things up

[@NickiRusin]

That lightning rod UI is so oldschool, I love it

[@rarrawer]

I'd really like to see a teardown of the drones and failure analysis of the electronics. Just how bad was the damage internally? (What components still functioned ex. microcontrollers and digital logic, discrete transitors, motors, etc.)

[@AnthonyKeydel]

This is my favorite series of videos that you produce.

[@Onychoprion27]

SloMo Guys should have been there for this.

[@jamesmccann531]

would have loved to see the several hundred thousand frames per second on this.

[@Spirit532]

They did use a high speed camera at some n-ty thousand frames per second. Says 3000x slower, and assuming it was slower than "regular" 25fps video, that would put the cam at 75 000 fps. You could catch a glimpse of the Phantom Camera Control software on the laptop :)

[@jamesmccann531]

a 200,000 frames per second camera would still be better.

[@weeardguy]

@@jamesmccann531 No high-speed camera in this instance works very well without sufficient lighting and I have to say I was a bit bummed that you could hardly see anything happening besides the discharge striking the drone.

[@DanielVerberne]

…. Googles ‘Faraday cage’… hmm… looks up video explaining Faraday cage … hmmm…. Googles ‘what is electricity’.. hmm….. closes laptop and cries.

[@Jarymut]

I always love "it's not conductive" when people talk about lighting. Is air conductive? Because it's no problem for lighting... Anyway, thanks for great content! :)

[@koharumi1]

Oh look, there is a lightning storm outside my home. Let me just take out my drone and...

[@clockworkkirlia7475]

Fascinating and AHAHAHA LIGHTNING! Also, as a Scot, that's a particularly sweet accent to hear. Fifer or Northeast, at least, I'm guessing.

[@gotskllzgaming4640]

Just in case you were wondering, the area where the bolt left the drone on them is where the metal antenna is

[@Dafta007]

1:47 That old-school DOS interface

[@bryanyoung8404]

i cant help but note that the compass is in the foot of the phantom 3S. there is actually electrical components down there, the exit point could be in the foot of the drone because there is a direct connection between the compass and the flight controller/ motor.

[@SpTh2]

The way the propellers flew off really is shocking

[@ian1064]

Sevda Yskovich happened all the time on my x5c-1 but I fixed it with lot of superglue

[@SpTh2]

***** Glad to hear that the old methods still work.

[@potatoonastick2239]

Pun intended?

[@DKTAz00]

Seeing this, it makes sense the lightning will go for the center of the motors, there's a stable airvortex for the plasma to form in. Where as the rest of the craft is blasted with unstable air

[@Breakfast221]

The lightning here sounds like a gunshot. Out of curiosity, any idea how loud it would be if you were standing right next to the drone?

[@zyaicob]

Can dead people hear?

[@hellaswagga2205]

I just love everybody's energy there

[@niklasxl]

no shots of the components? that would have been the interesting thing to see :/

[@ShrubRustle]

That Indian-Scottish accent is gorgeous, they blend together so nicely. oh and also the drone went boom which is rad

[@isaacs8783]

ShrubRustle boom = rad

[@steve1]

You should send one to BigClive for an autopsy.

[@Life4YourGames]

Double post police - You're under arrest ;)

[@BlackEagle352]

That is a design achievement, that the battery is protected and doesn't explode, not making it a falling bomb from the sky.

[@franzluggin398]

4:55 _"But soon, the flames will fade and only Dark will remain. Even now, there are only embers[...]"_

[@hamishkane6545]

Probably the best techrax video so far.

[@ThecreeperKiller1234]

Can you please disassemble the drone and show the internals, I would like to see the viable damage to the electronics.

[@Akash-mu3sx]

I haven't seen tom this much excited before

[@PoliticRevolutionnaire]

Yay Mad Captain Tom is back!

[@ian1064]

Politic Revolutionnaire *cap'n

[@cornelisvreeswijk186]

Wow, Tom's clapping at 1:56 ! Now that's enthusiasm

[@ET_AYY_LMAO]

You just HAD to use a DJI Phantom instead of a dirt cheap race quad?

[@jontesgamlakanal2992]

*RIP PHANTOM* I WOULD LOVE TO HAVE ONE! *WHAT A WASTE*

[@kas-lw7xz]

@@jontesgamlakanal2992 science is never a waste

[@kotresh]

@@kas-lw7xz not in this case, but sometimes it is

[@jonathancook4022]

Welcome back. We missed you. Nice, funny ending.

[@Phourc]

1:42 "WARNING! Remove the Impulse Generator EARTH STICK before energising the IMPULSE GENERATOR WARNING" Not a damn clue what it means, but I've got a sudden desire to do both of those things >:D

[@Life4YourGames]

I don't think anything special would happen. It sounds like the whole generator is earthed when unused so when you'd try to charge it up without removing the "earth stick" you would simply short circuit into the ground which supposedly is completely unspectacular since I guess nothing noticeable would happen.

[@Phourc]

Ah, that makes sense. Thanks for the explanation. ^^

[@Life4YourGames]

Phourc You're welcome :) Just a thought though. I've also got the urge to try that out and see if I'm mistaken and something explodes out of the sudden! xD

[@iancotton9276]

Nearly - if we leave the earth stick on it also causes the main circuit breaker in the lab to trip off which is a little embarrassing for the user! It's happened to me on a number of occasions!

[@wb6wsn]

This is the UK, so cut them some slack on descriptive lab terms. The "earth stick" is likely a flexible conductor on a pole that can put a low conductivity (short) between the generator output and nominal earth ground. It is a last chance safety feature to ensure that somebody in the control room doesn't zap somebody working in the test chamber. It also precludes any residual charge on the generator from shocking a worker. The generator likely cannot operate correctly if the earth stick is left in place, so operating the generator in that condition is equivalent to testing the safety circuits on the generator; you may get an expensive surprise (to say that this facility is expensive is an understatement).

[@redeyeman06]

Does that gentleman have a Scottish/Indian accent? Its bloody glorious whatever it is! I knew a lad at University who had a Jamaican dad and a Scottish mum and his accent was boss too.

[@LARAUJO_0]

why is it that everyone uses the exact same type of drone when doing crazy drone experiments?

[@Thearc]

Normally i'm super nervous when someone destroy a drone , but in this video, i'm super excited because is an awesome experience ! Thanks ;)

[@jimmysgameclips]

Guess I'll stick to a kite in that kind of weather, heh saved me some trouble eh!

[@conkerconk3]

1:50 love the retro looking GUI

[@karlkastor]

So why don't lightnings affect planes? Because of the metal hull?

[@nightjarflying]

@Karl Kastor Yes. Modern airplanes have a conductive skin or layer - usually metal. Airliners are struck by lightning regularly without mishap.

[@stationshelter]

planes are very smooth so the lightning curves around the outside and drips off the bottom.

[@BandanaDrummer95]

The simple answer is that it does affect the planes, but various sensitive components are well shielded. If you had a personal electronic device on in an aircraft that got struck and were sitting in a window seat, the might be some issues. However, most commercial flights will avoid situations that would lead to getting struck by lightning due to the other weather issues associated with storms (mostly various wind patterns).

[@steve6375]

Maybe because planes don't have a string attached to them leading to ground?

[@hudsonm1a22]

I have a bit of experience fixing drones. This Phantom 3 received the lightining through the motor, went through the single control board of the entire aircraft and exited through the antenna (or compass housing). This kind of explains why the battery was unharmed, since the current chose the path of least resistance and exited closer to the ground.

[@verityw6721]

So, if you're gonna try fly a drone in a lightning storm... Don't.

[@Lampe2020]

Maybe you could get a copper-coated drone with a lightning rod much higher than the motor axles to survive the test? If a lightning hits that it definetly hits the metal from the casing or even easier the lightning rod and then just exit out the bottom and maybe chip off some of the copper.

[@maxscribner1743]

Tom's Back! We missed you!

[@Blender3DProjects]

that Phantom 3 standard drone has a compass attached by a wire in the landing gear that the lightning exits, it's actually traveling through that, not the plastic, thus the exit point.

[@Archonicenergy]

Tom, how many Farads were those capacitors?

[@iancotton9276]

We effectively have 10 capacitors all of 750nF, these are charged in parallel and discharged in series.

[@Archonicenergy]

thanks Ian, That's pretty cool! from the size i was guessing 1F each but at that high voltage it's a bit hard to gauge by size. I used to put 12v 1F caps in cars for the sound systems but they were only about 1Kg.

[@iancotton9276]

Yes, the spark gaps are in the large blue column. This contains the noise and also allows us to push fresh clean air through the gaps once they have fired. Solid state switches would be a very tall order at this voltage level but you can make lower voltage generators work that way.

[@btCharlie_]

I've been to one of these here in Prague. It's not used anymore for anything but lectures and student experiments, but it's still magnificent.

[@MrFastFox666]

I'm 99% sure it exits through the landing gear because of the antennas inside.

[@Lucas7yoshi_]

Having OWNED one of these drones, i know that it did indeed enter via the motor, but the exit point that they say is the handles, there is actually a metal wire for an antenna, Unless they say it later in the video

[@Prosbjerg]

Why is the drone transparent in the picture where the lightning strikes?

[@TomScottGo]

It's a long-exposure shot: the drone was moving about a lot (you can see the blurred red lights), and that's the one moment where it's illuminated by the lightning!

[@Prosbjerg]

Okay, that explains a lot! Thank you for your answer, and as always - a great video! Keep up your great work!

[@acumanabstractarts4482]

this has made my monday and will make many more mondays to come

[@cmpe43]

I love hearing an Indian having a sort of Scottish accent! Can you do a back story on him?

[@accidentaljester]

Best video yet IMO, short sweet and awesome. I wouldn't have minded it being longer, with more info about the facility and staff, but it was great to watch.

[@BuggsOp]

Here before this goes on trending

[@ian1064]

Urabouy me 2 m9

[@jacobbaer785]

Urabouy me 3

[@patentlypaul1832]

me 4

[@s6th795]

I thought my battery of several Leyden jars was impressive. Dang. Welcome back, Tom!

[@paddytoolbox]

children in africa could have eaten that drone

[@CNCmachiningisfun]

Now that it has been cooked, it will taste even better :) .

[@SCRedstone]

Children in africa could have eaten those capacitors

[@CNCmachiningisfun]

Sadly, they will 'charge' too much for these capacitors.

[@deaddu]

they will have to made do with eating lightning instead

[@casio81234]

drones in africa could've eaten those children

[@canadianmakers]

An hypothesis about the trajectory of the lightning is that the propeller is litterally sucking air on top of it, making an easier path for the plasma to ignite because of the lower air density.

[@vanadinemedia5582]

Tom Scott is TechRax confirmed

[@aidanmco]

I have that phantom... The exit point is not plastic, that's in fact the antenna, which is stored in the legs of the drone :)

[@rayquatics23]

Idk I still think flying one into a pool of coke is a better way to destroy one...

[@rayquatics23]

Jk great vid

[@datapoint6859]

If you look at the ground up slow motion shot of the strike, the prop that took the hit immediately stopped, suggesting the motor somehow welded itself together. THAT would be an interesting teardown.

[@atahservices2840]

waste of a phantom

[@nigmosh65]

LawnTractorBoy Now is it really? If you look at it from a broader perspective, Tom already did research for DJI on electrical protection for their drones.

[@Skip6235]

science is never a waste

[@DaveDaveAlanAlan]

Nope.

[@potatoonastick2239]

That's like saying that the rovers that were sent to mars went to waste. Its science, it doesn't go to waste.

[@atahservices2840]

Skip6235 it can be, when it is done to much.

[@michaelriddle134]

There's an antenna that goes down one of the DJI Phantom 2's legs, I bet that's what the electricity followed -- not the rubber legs.

[@eloiseannicle]

Love the, ‘let’s see what happens, (safely)’ attitude of this video.

[@AlanTheBeast100]

On that model Phantom, the propellers are screwed on counter to the rotation sense. I suspect that the motors stopped abruptly (or even reversed) causing the props to 'unscrew' and fly off. The lightning was conducted down the "handle" because the antennas are in two of the vertical legs of the landing gear. Also believe if the "tip" on top were longer and a 'tail' used to bring the lightning bolt to the bottom, the drone might have stood a chance.

[@thobiex]

The exit point of the lightning seems to be the electronic compass that is positioned on the bottom of the right back leg. Would make sense as it is connected to the main circuitry through copper wire.

[@willowmoon7]

I love that all those guys were just as into this as Tom

[@GaminGit]

"Don't try this at home... if you have a high voltage laboratory at home..." Looking at you, PhotonicInduction!! ;)

[@VDhorses1]

I hadn't seen this one yet. Looks good :) You seem very comfortable/relaxed in this video.

[@propnut1361]

The researcher states that the current leaves the quadcopter via the plastic "leg". I am quite sure that this model of quadcopter has the radio (receiving) antenna on one of the legs. If you inspect the quad, I predict the antenna carried the charge down the leg, not the plastic itself. I assume the charge hit the motor on the second try instead of the "lightening rod" because the motors have a very high metal content due to the all metal magnets, coils and chassis. A longer, heavier steel rod may produce the desired result (protection of the quad). Happy flying:)

[@WilliamBoothClibborn]

Drones Vs ... sounds like a start of a new series.....