On Jun 2, 2008, at 5:54 PM, Russell Standish wrote: > On Mon, Jun 02, 2008 at 05:24:35PM -0600, Don Begley wrote: >> >> A delayed comment but worth noting: while I concur the EMF scare was >> just that, it doesn't mean living below a power line is uneventful. >> Years ago, a transmission engineer friend and mentor took me to a >> 345kV line south of Albuquerque in the Mesa del Sol area to >> demonstrate its power. On a hot summer day we stood under the line at >> a point where a barbed wire fence protruded from a sand drift. "Grab >> it," he said, pointing to the fence. I did but only long enough to >> drop it. The wire was humming with enough electricity to make the >> experience decidedly unpleasant. >> >> This probably wouldn't happen in winter. In summer,however, the load >> on the line is maxed as is the sag in the line from the heat of the >> load, bringing it near the closest point to the ground allowed by >> design standards and close enough to excite electrons in the barbed >> wire. >> >> -d- >> > > Probably more a matter of the sand being dry enough for the barbed > wire to be electrically decoupled from you. I've seen similar EMF > coupling effects in ordinary household 240V power, if things are > sufficiently well earthed. > > Doesn't mean it injurious to health, however. The normal impedance > of a human > being is 5-6 orders of magnitude higher than barbed wire!
Definitely, the wire was earthed. FWIW, however, the engineer said the energy came from the power line and sensible only in those summer. -d- > > > -- > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- > A/Prof Russell Standish Phone 0425 253119 (mobile) > Mathematics > UNSW SYDNEY 2052 [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Australia http://www.hpcoders.com.au > ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- > > ============================================================ > FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv > Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College > lectures, archives, unsubscribe, maps at http://www.friam.org > ============================================================ FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College lectures, archives, unsubscribe, maps at http://www.friam.org
