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Robatoy[_2_] Robatoy[_2_] is offline
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Default Off Topic: Darwin Award

On Mar 3, 2:55*pm, -MIKE- wrote:
On 3/3/10 12:55 PM, Robatoy wrote:





On Mar 3, 12:39 pm, *wrote:
I thought mythbusters totally disproved it?


That was one that they proved. *If you have a solid stream of liquid to act
as a conductor, electricity can follow it. *They had quite a bit of trouble
getting a solid stream, but suceeded in the end.


Puckdropper


Really? *We're using mythbusters as our final word on science?


Love the show, but they *hardly* hold to scientific method and
occasionally get it right.


In this particular case, if the voltage/current is high enough, you
don't need a "continuous stream." *The electricity can arc from drop to
drop to drop.


The voltage would have to be one heckuva lot higher than the 600 volts
typically found on a third rail, which is what Mythbusters was trying
to establish.
For a charge to jump from one drop to the next, to the next the
voltage would have to be a lot higher, such as an electric fence.


Other than that, Mythbusters is a 'reality' show with a twist. They
like blowing **** up to get ratings. One is supposed to suspend any
belief in scientific methods.


Why so serious?


Not serious, just blabbin.

I don't think they ever got anywhere near 600 volts on the show.
I don't know the exact numbers, since I'm only recalling what my buddy
told me (electrical engineer for AEP), but lines that would fall from a
pole near a highway or roadway could be 1000+ volts, and certainly very
high current.

Quite often as high as 23,000 volts. Pee on one of those, and all
that'll be left would be your boots. Dusty boots... likely just
footprints. The 4-part biggies go to 500KV and can carry upward of a
gigawatt.