Settle a debate.......orange balls.
Settle a debate.......orange balls.
The orange plastic balls on power lines over motorways. What are they for specifically?
I reckon they are for safety if a line comes down, i.e. shock etc. but a friend thinks they are to warn aircraft/helicopters etc. of danger.
Anyone know for sure?
Kenny
I reckon they are for safety if a line comes down, i.e. shock etc. but a friend thinks they are to warn aircraft/helicopters etc. of danger.
Anyone know for sure?
Kenny
Pretty much as close as it looks, though it was taken with a telephoto so that compresses the perspective a bit. I posted a question about what it might be doing a while ago. Seemingly it is blowing dust off the insulators, hence the little cloud at the end of the nozzle poking out the side of the copter.
Yes it's mine.
Maybe the balls are out of the frame.
Yes it's mine.
Maybe the balls are out of the frame.
Grouser
100% positive, the orange balls are to divert birds such as swans and storks away from the power lines after quite a few got injured or killed some years back. A win win situation really, the balls save bird lives and avoid the occasional outage caused by a large bird shorting out a circuit.
No need to phone a friend on this one.
No need to phone a friend on this one.
slightly off subject, but remaining with birds....
Where we used to live in the UK, there was a new shopping center built along with a large multi story car park....for effect, they painted ALL of the parking spaces blue which did look quite nice...
However an awful lot of ducks, geese and swans landed on the roof level (supposedly thinking the large blue mass was water!)....
After only about 3 months it was repainted, and just the outside of each space was blue!!!
Where we used to live in the UK, there was a new shopping center built along with a large multi story car park....for effect, they painted ALL of the parking spaces blue which did look quite nice...
However an awful lot of ducks, geese and swans landed on the roof level (supposedly thinking the large blue mass was water!)....
After only about 3 months it was repainted, and just the outside of each space was blue!!!
- country boy
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- country boy
- Andalucia Guru
- Posts: 2829
- Joined: Mon Jun 28, 2004 9:49 pm
- Location: U.K. (prev Pizarra 2000/2020).
The balls work by dampening resonances induced by wind blowing across the wires. Without them, the wires could swing dangerously - building up amplitude until they eventually touch and arc. This only happens under very specific circumstances: wind speed and direction have to be just right and maintained for some time.
Talking about danger to birds. One thing that does kill a lot of birds are wind farms. Typically, they get the larger birds and in some places are having a measurable effect on their numbers. It's not all "green"
Talking about danger to birds. One thing that does kill a lot of birds are wind farms. Typically, they get the larger birds and in some places are having a measurable effect on their numbers. It's not all "green"
My cave house adventures http://www.pete-lynch.com/la_casa.html
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