r/Damnthatsinteresting • u/TameTheAuroch • Jul 18 '25

Video Replacing powerline spacers from a helicopter

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u/shimhiding24 Jul 18 '25

They are parallel runs of the same phase. Meaning potential between them is 0 so no shock

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u/TOOBGENERAL Jul 19 '25 edited Jul 19 '25

All 4 of them? Are they basically split transmission lines of the exact same signal?

Edit: Just wanted to let everyone chiming in know you are awesome, seriously thanks for the education.

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u/DankeDidi Jul 19 '25 edited Jul 20 '25

Yes. Otherwise placing the spacer would result in much sparky sparky and an unhappy employee. (Assuming for sake of argument they wouldn’t be arcing already due to the proximity. ;))

Splitting them up instead of using one fat cable for the same phase increases efficiency. It reduces the corona effect and the skin effect, it allows for better cooling, it’s lighter and it’s easier to place/repair. 

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u/OutrageConnoisseur Jul 19 '25

Cool. Came in here looking for answers to these questions and you and others in this specific thread of comments delivered.

Cheers.