Don't land in power lines

[Jumpervint 0]

Well, this isn't a skydiver landing in lines, but the sheer power of it all scares me enough that I will do anything to avoid power lines. Oh, and especially substations.


http://www.landlocker.com/homeMovies/LugoSWR.mpeg


Vint

. . . . .
"Make it hard again." Doc Ed

“A person needs a little madness, or else they never dare cut the rope and be free” Nikos Kazantzakis

[quade 4]

What the hell -was- that?

Looks like the guy knew it was going to happen ahead of time, so I assume it's not some sort of anomaly, but rather something intentional. Also, looks like there are a number of circuits in the back ground that are disconnecting all at once.

quade -
The World's Most Boring Skydiver

[CrazyIvan 0]

WOW!!!! AWESOME!!!

__________________________________________
Blue Skies and May the Force be with you.

[Jumpervint 0]

Here's a quote from the original message to which this video was attached. (It's my wife's neon tube bending group.)

>...this link is for an mpg file that shows a 500kV
>substation with a motorised circuit isolation system opening under load.
>
>It's not supposed to open under load, but the switching device on one
>leg of the supply fails. They had apparently set up a camera each time
>it opened, just in case it did it's little stunt.
>
>As you'll see from the video, they caught it!

I particulary like the sound. And can't you just smell the ozone?


Vint

. . . . .
"Make it hard again." Doc Ed

“A person needs a little madness, or else they never dare cut the rope and be free” Nikos Kazantzakis

[souleh 0]

Mmmmm pretty! Reminds me (in a rather less spectacular manner) of the Tesla coil I once made.

What is it with us and fascination with pretty lights / effects / colours / fire? Or is that just me?

'buttplugs? where?' - geno

[Amazon 7]

WHOA.. stand WAY BACk...

Hey guys.. watch THIS....

[Antithesis 0]

That was cool!

<-- resisting the urge to put a fork in the outlet

I travel the land, Work in the ocean, Play in the sky

[champu 1]

looks like a very expensive jacob's ladder.

[sdgregory 0]

Kick Ass Dude!

[North95 0]

Are you guys serious? You really can't believe that video, can you? First of all, it doesn't even look real. Also, there's no reason for the current to go so far out of its way. Once the air is ionized, it should go more or less in a straight line, not off in a giant "n" shape.

I'm not an expert, but I work for a living with 120,000 volts.

BTW, it is a cool video anyway.

North

Repetition does not transform a lie into a truth.
Franklin D. Roosevelt

[champu 1]

they appear to be in some kind of valley in the desert, so the air currents and thermals could greatly disturb the plasma and affect where the arc travels.

But yeah, this isn't something I'd expect to see every day.

[MarkF 0]

Quote

Are you guys serious? You really can't believe that video, can you? First of all, it doesn't even look real. Also, there's no reason for the current to go so far out of its way. Once the air is ionized, it should go more or less in a straight line, not off in a giant "n" shape.

I'm not an expert, but I work for a living with 120,000 volts.

BTW, it is a cool video anyway.

North

Oh it'll be real alright... depending on your point of view...
It was a loaded 550KV line ( probably 500 MW ) and the collapse of the magnetic field surrounding who knows how many miles of power line carrying a LARGE current when the circuit was broken is what caused the big arc. If the circuit was unloaded the current flowing would be less and therefore the collapsing magnetic field would induce a smaller current and much smaller arc.

When electricity flows between two points it takes the point of least resistance. In the case of an arc plasma is the conducting medium and convection, wind, whatever can move the "conductor" around.

I haven't searched but there could be some similar stuff on the Hitachi or Shenyang web sites. Shenyang make the last word in HIGH POWER switch gear.

I worked in the power distribution game for a few years and got to see at close (sometimes much too close) quarters the power of electricity.

Ooroo
Mark F...

[base283 0]

Quote

Are you guys serious? You really can't believe that video, can you? First of all, it doesn't even look real. Also, there's no reason for the current to go so far out of its way. Once the air is ionized, it should go more or less in a straight line, not off in a giant "n" shape.

Yeah! Hot air don´t rise.....
take care,
space

[PhillyKev 0]

Quote

Don't land in power lines

Ok....never thought of that, but sounds like a good idea.

[quade 4]

You've never made a Jacob's Ladder?

quade -
The World's Most Boring Skydiver

[Sheenster303 0]

Quote

You've never made a Jacobs ladder?

What is a Jacob's Ladder?

I'm so funny I crack my head open!

P.M.S. #102

[cop 0]

Ok, landing power lines is baaaad! But, I've been told that electricity allways finds the shortest way and minimum resistant.... So, why that lightningburst went so much upwords?

Seems like fake to me...

"You can call me Mike"

[PhillyKev 0]

Quote

So, why that lightningburst went so much upwords?

Seems like fake to me...

I didn't watch the vid, but electric current travelling through the air will arc precisely because it takes the path of least resistance.

The cooler the air is, the better it is as a conductor. As the electricity passes through the air, it heats the air, reduciing it's conductive properties, so the electricity arcs as it moves to cooler air adjacent to the air it just heated. It will continue arcing until the path gets too long to be sustained, then it will reestablish in a straight line again and repeat.

[quade 4]

I added a link.

http://www.bio.miami.edu/rob/tesla.html

quade -
The World's Most Boring Skydiver

[cop 0]

[reply

I didn't watch the vid, but electric current travelling through the air will arc precisely because it takes the path of least resistance.

The cooler the air is, the better it is as a conductor. As the electricity passes through the air, it heats the air, reduciing it's conductive properties, so the electricity arcs as it moves to cooler air adjacent to the air it just heated. It will continue arcing until the path gets too long to be sustained, then it will reestablish in a straight line again and repeat.

[Swoopyswoop 0]

I can guarantee ythe authenticity of that video. Its become apparent that you dont work with 120kv simply for one reason. THERES NO SUCH THING!!!!!!!! your either working 110 or 115 but no 120!!!!!! Secondly that theory on ionizing and blah blah blah is crap. Air is a conductor to a degree so at that level anything is possible. The air switch was opened under load and caused the "tail" to continue to feed until it got too long to continue on and would no longer walk.

"when I die, I want to go like my grandfather while im sleeping, not like the passengers riding in the car with me
Swoopster
A.S.S. #6 Future T.S.S holder

[mojosme 0]

Swoopyswoop... I just realized you were a lineman. Glad to see a fellow skydiving lineman. There are too few of us.

[North95 0]

No such thing as high voltage? That's news.

What I do, or my CT scanner does, is step up the voltage to 120,000 volts, smash the cathode rays into a tungsten or ceramic target, and you get X-Rays, 120KVP X-rays in such a case.

BTW, how do you guarantee the authenticity of the video? I'm not sure one way or the other. I might show it to a physicist I know, if I can find him.

North

Repetition does not transform a lie into a truth.
Franklin D. Roosevelt

[North95 0]

Sorry Swoop, I now undertand better what you are saying. We never leave off the k's, so I was a little confused. And I didn't know what you do for a living.

Anyway, in my work, we do use a broad range of voltage, from about 60KVP to 140KVP. Usually triple phase.

North

Repetition does not transform a lie into a truth.
Franklin D. Roosevelt

[jsaxton 0]

Well, you'd be a guy who knows!