"Robert Nichols" wrote:
Jeff Wisnia wrote:
:
:Sort of like this?
:
:http://home.comcast.net/~jwisnia18/temp/zap.mpg
:
:I don't know if the clip is real or fake, but it is impressive.
:
:Jeff

It's real. It's from SWEPCO in Shreveport, LA with the explanation:

"This is a 3 phase 500KV motor operated disconnect that is NOT
intended to be opened under load. There is a switcher that is
designed to open under load in the circuit that is supposed to open
load and then the disconnect opens. In this case, one phase of the
switcher failed to open, resulting in one phase of the disconnect
opening under load. The resulting arc was truly spectacular. The
reason that this event was caught on camera is because this
particular switcher has had a failure to open in the past so every
time the switcher was opened, a camera has been set up. This time
they got the failure on tape"

The arc sustained until an upstream circuit breaker stopped the current.

Bert Hickman has a few other "arcs and sparks" up on his page here, for
those who are into this sort of thing:
http://205.243.100.155/frames/longarc.htm

Jon