High voltage cable inspection
posted Jan 14th 2009 4:29pm by Strom Carlsonfiled under: misc hacks, wearable hacks
Have you ever wondered how they inspect high voltage cables without taking them out of service? Check out this video which offers a glimpse into the life of a professional high voltage cable inspector. There are parts of the job you’d expect—namely perching on the cable like a bird, trying to not fall off—but the part of the job you wouldn’t expect is the suit. This suit is made of 75% Nomex, to prevent it from catching fire, and 25% stainless steel thread, turning the suit into a wearable Faraday cage. Of course, because he’s got a Faraday cage mere millimeters from his skin, the cable inspector spends his workday surrounded by half a million volts. To avoid electric shock, he equalizes the voltage potential between himself and the line before touching the cable.
Depending on your specific phobias, this video might make your job seem really dull… or really really safe.
[via Gizmodo]
It is worth watching the video for the last line. However, I wouldn’t want to have to wear the magic Nomex lined Faraday cage suit in very cold or hot weather — it’s a magic material that manages to neither insulate nor breathe, and even the relatively thin coveralls we have to wear at some chemical plants get unbearable at the wrong time of year.