Re: very long sparks

To: tesla-at-pupman-dot-com
Subject: Re: very long sparks
From: "Jim Lux" <jimlux-at-jpl.nasa.gov> (by way of Terry Fritz <twftesla-at-uswest-dot-net>)
Date: Mon, 10 Jan 2000 07:11:51 -0700
Approved: twftesla-at-uswest-dot-net
Delivered-To: fixup-tesla-at-pupman-dot-com-at-fixme


> Also, what the HECK is that big ball of light at the top of the left
> power line tower?  It seems too bright to be ordinary glare or
> relfection.

Probably a light on top of the tower...

> 
> As for determining scale, the best indicator I see is at the bottom
> right of the transmitting tower. There appears to be a one-story
> entrance/lobby to the base of the round tower.  If one figures it would
> be about 12 feet tall, then one can estimate the height of the tower
> fairly accurately.  I show about 8.5 x or 8.5 x 12 feet or almost
> exactly 100 ft.  The straight line distance from the spark start on the
> tower to where the spark goes off the photo is 2x the tower height, or
> about 200 ft.  Assuming the spark really did hit the power lines, and
> extending the fence off the edge of the photo, and assuming the lines
> run parallel to it, there is about 50 ft of spark not caught in the
> photo.  So total estimated spark length is about 250ft.  Of course this
> is assuming the spark is at a 90deg angle.  If it's more or less than
> that, the spark length is higher.

Which all meshes with the 100+ meters quoted in the caption..