Here, this is science art you can try at home: Ordinary fluorescent lights + power lines = GLOW.
Really. You can do it yourself.
That work was inspired by Richard Box, who set up large installations of tubes-under-power-lines at University of Bristol. He describes the experience as even more otherworldly when you’re there in person:
‘You affect the lights by your proximity’, explains Richard Box, ‘because you’re a much better conductor than a glass tube. And there’s sound as well as light – a crackling that corresponds to the flashing of the lights. There’s a certain smell too, and your hair stands slightly on end.’
You can see the same phenomenon in this MIT lecture at about 43:15 – well, 45:30 if you don’t need any delightful explanations.
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