• expatriado@lemmy.world
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    18 hours ago

    the path of least resistance in this case is where the air ionized, when current starts flowing it gets hot, expands and raises, making an arc. So we could blame the weird shape to thermodynamic properties over electrical ones

    • compostgoblin@slrpnk.net
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      19 hours ago

      And that arc flash’s temperature is several times hotter than the surface of the sun. It’s hot enough to instantly vaporize any surrounding metal, meaning that if you manage to survive being near an arc flash, there’s a chance that you’ll end up with tiny metal shards in your lungs, when they cool down after you breathe them in. Arc flashes are scary stuff.

      • sploosh@lemmy.world
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        17 hours ago

        Arc flash hazard training messed me up. They showed a video where a guy is working on some switchgear when suddenly the frame is all white and then the guy is just GONE, but the floor and everything around where he was is a different, very red, color. That “if” regarding survival is doing some heavy lifting.

        • quinkin@lemmy.world
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          4 hours ago

          Grandpa worked in a power station back in the days of yore.

          Left the generator they were working on as he needed a tool. While he was gone an arc flash deleted his co-worker.

        • Chef_Boyardee@lemm.ee
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          13 hours ago

          IBEW local 26 here. They showed me that video too. That shook me for sure.

          It was the first class experience I’ve had in the trade. That video was the last thing he showed us at the end of class.

          Last thing he said was “don’t work hot” as we’re all packing up.

        • compostgoblin@slrpnk.net
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          17 hours ago

          Oh, absolutely. As my instructor put it, if you cause an arc flash and are killed instantly, you got off lucky. Because if you survive, your body will be severely damaged for the rest of your life.

          Those trainings put the fear into you for good reason. I don’t fuck with high voltage at all, shit is way too scary for me.

    • HiddenLychee@lemmy.world
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      17 hours ago

      Exactly what happened here! In the video the arch starts in a much more straight line, and rises as you describe as the air heats up.

  • jbk@discuss.tchncs.de
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    20 hours ago

    anyone else kinda see a wolf sorta screaming at the sky with the right hand held up with a fist