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From: jeffl@sequent.UUCP (Jeff Lindorff )
Newsgroups: sci.electronics
Subject: Re: Living near high tension lines
Message-ID: <3023@sequent.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 17-Nov-87 17:20:15 EST
Article-I.D.: sequent.3023
Posted: Tue Nov 17 17:20:15 1987
Date-Received: Fri, 20-Nov-87 03:35:45 EST
References: <9312@tekecs.TEK.COM> <1718@bloom-beacon.MIT.EDU> <1913@frog.UUCP> <2226@kitty.UUCP>
Organization: Sequent Computer Systems, Beaverton, OR
Lines: 34
Summary: Another instance ...

In article <2226@kitty.UUCP>, larry@kitty.UUCP (Larry Lippman) writes:
> In article <1788@bloom-beacon.MIT.EDU>, eichin@athena.mit.edu (Mark W. Eichin) writes:
> > I suspect it would be electric, not magnetic field effects that
> > matter, mainly from the propaganda stuff I have seen with people
> > walking under high-tension lines holding Flourescent tubes and having
> > them glow...
> 
> 	It only takes a few microamperes of current at several hundred volts
> to ionize the gas in a fluorescent lamp.  If you held one end of the lamp in
> one hand, while pointing the other end upward toward the power line - you
> may well have a sufficient potential difference to ionize the gas - provided
> you can get close enough, and provided there is enough voltage (lower voltage
> lines like 4.16 kV won't create enough of a field close to the ground).  The
> lamp won't be bright enough to be really useful, however.

I work for an FM broadcast station that has 5 other FM's sharing our building
and tower. All are 100kw ERP. Something rather eerie about turning OFF the
lights in the building and having them stay ON just bright enough to read by.
This effect diminishes rapidly with distance from the transmitters, and dosen't
work at all outside the building. The lowest antenna is about 180 feet off the
ground.  

$0.02


Jeff

(Not employed by Sequent Computer Systems, Beaverton, OR., so don't blame them.)

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