Oh, so this is what those balls on high voltage cables mean

25 8 月, 2021 wpadmin

Did you already know what the purpose of these balls is?

They are almost impossible to miss if you look up: brightly colored balls on the power lines. They look like Christmas balls! They all hang evenly apart and provide a bit of color to something gray like the high-voltage cables. But they aren’t there just for show – the balls have a purpose! We explain it to you.

When these balls first appeared on the power grid is not entirely clear. The practice probably started in the US. There are two states that seem to have come up with the idea: Arkansas and Florida. They say this custom started in the 1950s. But nowadays you see them everywhere!

Want to know why? Then continue reading quickly.

Bigger than you think!

If you drive along a couple of power lines, or if you just look at them from the ground, these balls don’t look very big. You might think they’re about the size of a basketball. But nothing is farther from the truth! These balls are a lot bigger than you think. The reason we think they are so small is because there is quite a bit of distance between the ground and the cable. The larger variants have a diameter of about 91 centimeters.

Credit: Videostill YouTube, Hawaiian Electric

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Good system

It’s not an easy task installing the balls. Various organizations are involved, and it is necessary to coordinate exactly which balls will be placed where. And there are plenty of professionals involved. Some of them work on the ground, but some work at a great height to assemble the balls onto the electricity grid.

Credit: Videostill YouTube, MrRobertarvine

Do you know what these people are doing at high altitude? Then continue reading on the next page.

Electricity

We’ll give you a tip: it all has to do with the electricity that runs through these cables. Did you know that it has only been possible to transport electricity over such long distances since 1882? It was then that engineers Oskar von Miller and Marcel Deprez managed to carry electricity over a longer distance. Very clever indeed: they used high-altitude cables for this, which were actually used for sending telegram messages. The duo then managed to transport 2.5 kilowatts over 60 kilometers. Today, of course, that distance means nothing anymore: our technology is now so advanced that we lay cables across national borders and on the bottom of the ocean.

Before Miller and Deprez’s invention, electricity could only be transported locally. But as the demand for electricity increased, power plants had to get increase in size and they no longer fit into the towns and cities they served.

Know how this was resolved? Continue reading now.

Cables in the air

The high-voltage cable was therefore invented to ensure that power could reach everyone. A special fact is that the cables you see hanging in the air are not insulated. Well, why would they be, if no one actually ever touches them?

Credit: Pexels

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Accidents happen easily

With so many uninsulated cables, things can sometimes go very wrong. That really only happens when the cables come into contact with each other, or when the cables make contact with the ground in some way. You’ve probably seen a photo or video of that happening before.

However, this also posed a problem for birds who very much like resting on the cables.

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Birds

Good: a lot has to go wrong for real fireworks to happen with such a high-voltage cable. As long as the electricity remains within the cables and cannot make contact with the ground or other cables in the vicinity via another way, there is nothing to worry about.

And therefore birds can safely take a nap on the life-threatening cables! After all, they are in no way in touch with the ground. However, birds could face terrible consequences if they’d accidentally stroke their tail along a second cable. Or if the bird is in contact with both the cable and the construction planted in the ground at the same time.

Credit: Pexels, Pixabay

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Safe for birds

Today, however, in many countries the high-voltage cables are made in such a way that birds can land safely. By increasing the space between the cables, the chance that a sparrow or gull will succeed in electrocuting itself is much smaller. Of course really big birds could still be a problem, but there’s only so much you can do. You don’t see them on a high-voltage cable often anyway.

Credit: Pixabay, Sandid

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Shoes on high voltage cables

Aside from birds, you have probably also seen a pair of shoes on a high-voltage cable before. Or on some other kind of cable hanging over a street somewhere. One day nothing is wrong, and the next day you open your curtains and suddenly find yourself looking out at a pair of sneakers waving in the wind from a high-voltage cable. Why does that happen so often?

Credit: Picsbay, StockSnaps

6,000 pairs of shoes

You may not see them very often in the Netherlands, but in the American metropolis of Chicago you can see shoes hanging in many places. Between 2008 and 2015, the municipality had to remove no fewer than 6,000 pairs of shoes from the cables!

Who do you think is responsible for throwing those shoes? Continue reading quickly.

Drugs, gangs, and crime?

According to some, the shoes have to do with territorial conflicts between different criminal gangs. Now you will not see that often in the Netherlands. Another story that goes around a lot is a pair of shoes indicate a place where you can buy drugs. Creepy!

Much more realistic

In the Netherlands, however, there is a good chance that the shoes are just a prank. You will be able to spot the shoes after a night out, especially in student-rich cities. One minute you’re wandering home with your friends, the next you find yourself involved in a shoe-throwing contest.

Of course those shoes don’t belong on such a cable. But there are many things on our high-voltage cables that do belong there! Curious? Then read on.

Glass discs

Close to electricity pylons you often see glass discs hanging from high-voltage cables. These also have a special purpose!

Credit: Pixabay, stevepb

Curious to find out what these things are for? Then click the button below!

Electricity pylons

We just mentioned that it is extremely important for the voltage in the cables that they do not make contact with the ground. That would result in fireworks. Yet those cables hang from the gigantic electricity pylons that you see everywhere and nowhere. That’s where those glass discs come into play.

Credit: Pixabay, zatu222

These discs also have another purpose. Read on soon!

Thunder and lightning

The high voltage cables are of course not the only work of electricity hanging in the air! Clouds can also cause a lot of fireworks when it storms. The result: bright flashes of electricity. By providing the high-voltage cables with the glass sheaves, the lines are also protected against lightning striking the mast. So don’t worry about those during the next thunderstorm!

Credit: Pixabay, 12019

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Colored balls

Well, those glass disks aren’t that easy to see from afar, important as they are. However, the colored balls on the high-voltage cables can be spotted from a great distance. Take a look below to see how big they are: then you will immediately understand why they are still recognizable from hundreds of meters away. In the past mainly red balls were used, but nowadays orange is the standard. You will undoubtedly be able to spot the balls in different colors if you really pay attention.