[Lowfer] Here's another good one!

[Ed Phillips]

John Davis wrote:

> And then, of course, there's all the fun you can have with an AM radio tower
> on a windy day if the static drain choke has opened up....
> 
> John

	Doesn't take a tower.  When I was a kid back in Missouri I had a 200
foot long wire hung between a couple of trees.  On a cold dry windy
winter day the "static pickup" was quite apparent and a small neon bulb
between antenna and ground would blink away every one in a while.

	I have another example of an unintended static electric generator.  My
dad used to have his office next to an old-fashiomed machine show which
used lineshaft and belt driven equipment.  One of the belts was about 4"
wide and 40 feet line to motor.  There was a hardware cloth cage over
the motor end.  When the weather was dry enough 2" sparks would jump
from the cage to the sprinkler pipe next to it.  Really noteworth to a
six year old!

	On a similar topic flour mill explosions used to be pretty common and
the usual explanation was that flowing flour could generate enough
static charge to spark and ignite flour dust.  First heard that story as
a kid when our local mill disappeared in a flash and a couple of guys
working there were killed in the explosion.

	"Static electricity is everywhere you look."

Ed