Lighting up the sky with high-voltage trickery

By SIMON BENSON Environment Editor
March 15, 2004

IT'S not a trick or an illusion. The electrical field underneath these high-voltage power lines is so strong it can light up fluorescent tubes.

Some scientific studies suggest there could be health impacts from the electromagnetic radiation _ although other studies and power companies deny there is any threat.

Federal regulators are drafting a national code of standards for the maximum levels of radiation that people should be exposed to, which will also look at power lines.

The Daily Telegraph repeated an experiment conducted in Britain last week, which showed the strength of the invisible energy the lines emit.

These power lines, which run from near Tamworth to the coast run at 330 kilovolts. The lines that connect to homes are typically 415/240 volts.

Holding a fluorescent tube under or near the high-voltage power lines causes the tube to light up.

There is so much electricity in the air from the overhead cables that it excites argon gas insides the tubes. Light is created when the gas particles react with the phosphorous coating of the tube.

Holding the tube or planting it in the ground will earth it and complete the electrical circuit.

High voltage...L***** S***** conducts the experiment under power lines at Tamworth.

This page is maintained by

The Rivermouth Action Group Inc

as a community service.

E-mail: activist@rag.org.au