power of electricity; lots of it

[xLibelle]

http://www.oldcrows.net/~oldcrow/LugoSWR.mpg

That is 500,000 volts at 25 amps =~ 1.7 MegaVars.
The light show happened because a faulty interrupter didnt open at the right time creating a 50 ft. arc.
Its located at a substation in California.

I love this stuff

 

[Dinan55]

THAT'S F*CKING INCREDIBLE!!!

 

[Tom]

Thats crazy.

 

[coyotefreek]

woa, thats something you dont see every day. Were they planning on it happening? Usualy you dont just happen to have a video camera pointed at a distrubution station.

 

[frolf]

that is really sweet

 

[xLibelle]

Actually, its something these guys dont see too often, at least that big i mean. Its a faulty gas puffer interrupter (circuit breaker-like) and they are about to repair it. The mechanics are hydraulic driven, and im not sure, but i think you can see where the problem is once the action starts.

The three latches are connected to different size caps, each discharges as the latches open and everything has to be just right or that happens. And that, isnt good. What is supposed to happen, if things worked right, is nothing at all. That doesnt make for a good light show now does it.

 

[Kirby]

WOW!! That is awsome!! It's like a giant Jacob's ladder. Notice how the arc rises into the air? That rise is caused by the heating of the air surrounding the arc.

 

[manuel]

thats cool...

 

[frolf]

my co-worker is claiming that the video is not real. my vote is that i is real.

 

[skandalous]

I like the guy at the end of the video who yells. The only way I can tell that it might be real is that the 2 guys in the bottom left of the screen are backing off.

 

[VANCE]

DAMN

 

[xLibelle]

WOW!! That is awsome!! It's like a giant Jacob's ladder. Notice how the arc rises into the air? That rise is caused by the heating of the air surrounding the arc.

Yep, pretty much. The reason the bolt follows that warm air is because it contains the ionized particles from the electro-magnetic effect.

 

[Kirby]

my co-worker is claiming that the video is not real. my vote is that i is real.

It's real. Tell him to go to a science museum where they have a Van de Graeff generator and he can see arcs just like that, but containing only one millionth of the total energy in XLibelle's fantastic clip.

 

[ResidentSlacker]

sounds like a cool vid...too bad the link is dead

 

[jonnyz16]