High Voltage Arcs and Sparks Page
http://205.243.100.155/frames/longarc.htm
High Voltage Sparks and Arcs (scroll down a bit)
The above sequence of jpegs show what happens when the boom of a Link Belt crane accidentally comes too close
to a 46 kV power feeder. The feeder arcs to the boom, elevating the potential of the entire crane. The base of the
crane arcs to the steel reinforcement bars in the concrete, causing the concrete below the crane to explode! After
a couple of reclosures, the feeder’s circuit breaker finally locks out, killing power. However, by this time the hydraulic
oil, hoses, and tires have all ignited, and the entire crane becomes engulfed in flames.
That’s an impressive page. I was starting up a new boiler system in a new hospital many years ago. An electrician let his fishtape hit a live 480V 3 Phase line. “POOF” a good chunk of the fishtape evaporated and lit up the whole building. Luckily he was not killed.
Later I worked at a research institute that shot rockets into thunderstorms to cause lightning to discharge at specific test locations. The rockets trailed out wire behind them like a TOW missile. That was always impressive.