Electric performance: Maintenance engineer is filmed crawling along high voltage line as HALF A MILLION volts pass around his body but says his job is 'as safe as crossing the road'
- Maintenance man is covered in stainless steel thread as he makes his way along the wires on his hands and knees
- He has to wear the special suit so the voltage flows around him
- He arrives for work by travelling on the outside of a helicopter
If
you think your job is stressful, spare a thought for the American man
who is scared of electricity and heights but still crawls along power
lines - to keep energy flowing smoothly to business and households.
Captured
on video, the maintenance man demonstrates his day-to-day job and
explains what seems like the impressive science behind a special suit he
wears.
The garment is designed to protect him from the high-voltage power line.
The maintenance man arrives at the high-voltage power lines from the outside of a helicopter
Seventy-five per cent of his hot suit is made up of Nomex, which makes it fire retardant
The short clip, which was filmed in America, is taken from an IMAX documentary entitled Straight Up: Helicopters in Action.
In
the video, the man travels on the outside of a helicopter to arrive at
his workplace. He then explains the theory of English scientist Michael
Faraday – that if you enclose a man in a metal cage and energize that
cage at whatever voltage, the man would still live because the voltage
would flow around him.
He
notes that 75 per cent of his hot suit is made up of Nomex, which makes
it fire retardant, and 25 per cent is stainless steel thread.
The
thread causes the suit to act as a sort of Faraday cage around him and
allows for half a million volts to pass over his body.
Unlike
birds, who can perch on one wire without being electrocuted, the man is
in danger because he is touching two wires at the same time. These
wires and his body form a circuit through which electricity can flow.
25 per cent of the suit is made of stainless steel thread, which acts as a 'Faraday cage' around his body
The
maintenance man explains that as long as the helicopter is isolated
from the ground he has the ability to bring himself to the same voltage
potential as the lines.
After this he can be seen walking around the lines on his hands and knees as he goes about his job.
The
video concludes with him noting that he believes his work to be 'as
safe as crossing the street' before stating that he is scared of both
heights and electricity.
The man noted that he is weary of both heights and electricity, which obviously keeps him concentrating.
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