File under: "Aw, hell, no!" Working the high wires of electrical transmission lines

High voltage can be dangerous! This mouse touched two legs of the 480V in our telescope’s motor control box. His mom never taught him to stay in front of the finger guards, I guess.

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Sorry Metallica. Ride the Lightning has been demoted by at least one standard rank unit by the practice of slack-rope walking the lightning.

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I live in Mainland China. The utter disregard of personal safety is horrifying here. I used to live in a 5th floor apartment and when the guy came over to fix the AC, he just climbed over the patio railing and squatted next to the AC unit. No ropes or safety harness. I could not watch.

I asked a local about the lack of personal safety in China. People will walk across the street, oblivious to traffic and pay no attention at all to their surroundings. She told me that most people were so beaten down by life that they just didn’t care anymore.

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Honestly, this could be fun if safety protocols are followed. Arguably safer than a lot of mountaineering where you’re relying on the rock to hold rather than an engineered structure, and no hard wall to bounce off if you fall. As long as you trust your safety lines and you’re accustomed to it, probably safer than than some freeways.

Not for everyone, or maybe most, but thankfully some are up for it.

[Sent from an electrically powered machine. :wink:]

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This one has always been my favorite:

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I was just scrolling through to make sure SOMEBODY posted it.

I think I need a small vacation
But it don’t look like rain

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I have friends that worked on the transmission lines. The wore conductive suits which they actually connected to the live wire. The suits would glow from ionization with the atmosphere especially when the humidity was high. They did their work from a heavily insulated bucket crane. They told me the only thing they worried about was coming in contact with a ground. They all managed to retire from the job.

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So you found that explanation to be condescending, then? Because you just demonstrated faulty knowledge of the subject.

If you were in the electrical industry or taught physics, I’d agree you have a point. In this case… No.

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Holy crap, and here I thought climbing through an electric fence while wearing rubber boots was a strong show of faith!

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No. Accuracy is not mainsplaining. Don’t do that.

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I found out when I was 3 or 4 y.o. that I’m deathly afraid of heights. This was when we visited The Royal Gorge. I think I might have made it 20 or so feet on that bridge before I got on my hands and knees and slowly crawled back to safety.
Also, I suppose you could get Joseph Gordon-Levitt to do this sort of work in a pinch. He seems fearless.

And doing it in skinny jeans, no less.

Had a friend who was an electrician at the Port of Boston. Sometimes he would have to walk out on narrow passages in high places. At those times he would wear his Oh Jesus shoes.

“Oh Jesus shoes? What are those?” I asked.

“Those are the shoes you wear when every step you take you say, ‘Oh, Jesus, oh, Jesus.’”

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Well, actually :slight_smile: current will flow until you reach the same potential as the wire.

And since it’s an AC line, current will always be flowing. It’s just that because you’re such relatively low capacitance, it’s not that much current, though it’ll also depend on the actual voltage.

Hoo boy

Don’t go ‘splainin’

Where does a mansplainer get his water?
From a well, actually.

Oh and back on topic: As a younger man, I did some tower work. Nowadays, I’m older and, if not wiser, at least more cautious and less agile. So, … nope. Not me. Glad someone fixes 'em.

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