Electric performance: Maintenance engineer is filmed crawling along high voltage line as HALF A MILLION volts

[Batu69]

Electric performance: Maintenance engineer is filmed crawling along high voltage line as HALF A MILLION volts pass around his body but says his job is 'as safe as crossing the road'

• Maintenance man is covered in stainless steel thread as he makes his way along the wires on his hands and knees
• He has to wear the special suit so the voltage flows around him
• He arrives for work by travelling on the outside of a helicopter

If you think your job is stressful, spare a thought for the American man who is scared of electricity and heights but still crawls along power lines - to keep energy flowing smoothly to business and households.

Captured on video, the maintenance man demonstrates his day-to-day job and explains what seems like the impressive science behind a special suit he wears.

The garment is designed to protect him from the high-voltage power line.

The maintenance man arrives at the high-voltage power lines from the outside of a helicopter

Seventy-five per cent of his hot suit is made up of Nomex, which makes it fire retardant

The short clip, which was filmed in America, is taken from an IMAX documentary entitled Straight Up: Helicopters in Action.

In the video, the man travels on the outside of a helicopter to arrive at his workplace. He then explains the theory of English scientist Michael Faraday – that if you enclose a man in a metal cage and energize that cage at whatever voltage, the man would still live because the voltage would flow around him.

He notes that 75 per cent of his hot suit is made up of Nomex, which makes it fire retardant, and 25 per cent is stainless steel thread.

The thread causes the suit to act as a sort of Faraday cage around him and allows for half a million volts to pass over his body.

Unlike birds, who can perch on one wire without being electrocuted, the man is in danger because he is touching two wires at the same time. These wires and his body form a circuit through which electricity can flow.

25 per cent of the suit is made of stainless steel thread, which acts as a 'Faraday cage' around his body

The maintenance man explains that as long as the helicopter is isolated from the ground he has the ability to bring himself to the same voltage potential as the lines.

After this he can be seen walking around the lines on his hands and knees as he goes about his job.

The video concludes with him noting that he believes his work to be 'as safe as crossing the street' before stating that he is scared of both heights and electricity.

The man noted that he is weary of both heights and electricity, which obviously keeps him concentrating

Video Man rides OUTSIDE of helicopter to maintain power line

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ujBPiDgzyZ4

News source

[humble3d]

Really thank goodness for these technicians who make it all possible but,

You could not pay me a billion euros / dollars to do this kind of work

even if Nikola Tesla could... :)

[smallhagrid]

Neat job - very unique.

I'd not mind that work...except for the heights...oh well.

Great vid BTW - only afraid of electricity...heights & women - and he's married too - LMAO !!!