36 votes

What happens when you touch a Pickle to an AM radio tower?

9 comments

  1. [7]
    turmacar
    Link
    This is amazing. That they're doing it sure, but more importantly that it's written down in a blog with pictures instead of video only.

    This is amazing. That they're doing it sure, but more importantly that it's written down in a blog with pictures instead of video only.

    17 votes
    1. [6]
      SirNut
      Link Parent
      I hate the trend towards video only blogs I much prefer to read something and see pictures than sit and watch a video And ALSO I HAD NO IDEA broadcast towers were electrified

      I hate the trend towards video only blogs

      I much prefer to read something and see pictures than sit and watch a video

      And ALSO I HAD NO IDEA broadcast towers were electrified

      11 votes
      1. [3]
        Akir
        Link Parent
        Yeah. That's basically what a radio transmitter does; it turns electricity into radio waves. That's why commercial transmitters are described as n KW - because they're capable of using that much...

        Yeah. That's basically what a radio transmitter does; it turns electricity into radio waves. That's why commercial transmitters are described as n KW - because they're capable of using that much power. They are definately not good to touch, which is why they are often situated behind fences or otherwise in places where people can't touch them willy-nilly. In fact, radio waves by themselves can be so strong that they become hazardous to your health without needing to touch the antenna.

        Radio recievers are the opposite; they take radio waves and convert them to electricity. With AM radio, it basically just amplifies them and then the speaker turns them into audio you can hear. I remember as a kid I built a crystal radio that could make some extremely quiet sound without the use of external power.

        12 votes
        1. Mendanbar
          Link Parent
          I remember doing something similar with an electronics kit my parents got me. It felt like some sort of magic to pick up radio signals with something I built (mostly) by hand. I must have seemed...

          I remember doing something similar with an electronics kit my parents got me. It felt like some sort of magic to pick up radio signals with something I built (mostly) by hand.

          I must have seemed like a magician to my brother as well, because when he was around 7 years old he ripped ALL the components off the mainboard of his fisher price radio and brought them to me convinced I could just put them all back in the right place. :D

          7 votes
        2. NoblePath
          Link Parent
          I don’t think the whole tower is charged, just the weird loopy bits at the top. The towers are built to get the transmission hardware up high to maximize range. Edit: i’m wrong, at least for some...

          I don’t think the whole tower is charged, just the weird loopy bits at the top. The towers are built to get the transmission hardware up high to maximize range.

          Edit: i’m wrong, at least for some towers. Wikipedia

          3 votes
      2. [2]
        Mendanbar
        Link Parent
        Me either. I added it to my mental list of things to be worried about my kids touching. 😬

        And ALSO I HAD NO IDEA broadcast towers were electrified

        Me either. I added it to my mental list of things to be worried about my kids touching. 😬

        5 votes
        1. FrillsofTilde
          Link Parent
          Your eyeballs are particularly worrisome. When I got my amateur radio license the course referred to people as meat sacks and warned about frying meat sacks. It was great!

          Your eyeballs are particularly worrisome. When I got my amateur radio license the course referred to people as meat sacks and warned about frying meat sacks. It was great!

          1 vote
  2. l_one
    Link
    Ok, listening to a hot dog get turned into a burning speaker on contact was pretty awesome.

    Ok, listening to a hot dog get turned into a burning speaker on contact was pretty awesome.

    4 votes
  3. Omnicrola
    Link
    Well that was an absolutely delightful thing I didn't know I needed on my Friday, but I'm definitely better for it.

    Well that was an absolutely delightful thing I didn't know I needed on my Friday, but I'm definitely better for it.

    3 votes