"Danny D'Amico" wrote in message ...
On Wed, 20 Nov 2013 20:12:23 -0600, Nightcrawler® wrote:

Most likely you would be dead. The static electricity that builds up on those
things is so great that the difference in potential in just a few feet is close
to what is strung overhead

Ah. Again, It makes sense!
Even though those high-tension wires are insulated, they're carring hundreds
of thousands of volts, so, electrons strip off and build up in the metal of
the tower (were it to not be grounded).

At some point, that static electricity would be great enough to jump, like
lightening, to anything that was grounded.

And, were that to be me, it would be like getting hit by a bolt of lightening.


It is actually the potential voltage in the soil that is a hazard. One foot of
linear distance may yield over 100,000 VDC. Humidity and wind play a part in
this.