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TubeTimeUS's profile
Tube Time
Tube Time
Tube Time
@TubeTimeUS

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Tube Time

@TubeTimeUS

vacuum tubes, vintage computers, the MOnSter6502, cross-sectioned electronic parts, memes, and other detritus. BNC stands for Baby Neill Constant.

Silly Valley
tubetime.us
Joined May 2011

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    Tube Time‏ @TubeTimeUS 16 Sep 2020

    this electrical transmission tower has a little problem. can you spot it? actually, it's not a small problem--it cost us 16.65 *billion* dollars and caused the deaths of 85 people.pic.twitter.com/RgmSwSC5kz

    3:28 PM - 16 Sep 2020
    • 7,112 Retweets
    • 17,344 Likes
    • Cafar Py frye Jack Berisford Peter E. Steppe Dan P Henri Chain ~ Mnemonic Toby Lipnicky
    251 replies 7,112 retweets 17,344 likes
      1. New conversation
      2. Tube Time‏ @TubeTimeUS 16 Sep 2020

        here's what it is supposed to look like. a transposition tower rotates the relative position of the three phase wires. this is done to balance the impedance of each of the wires so that one of them doesn't hog current.pic.twitter.com/srxgskSWWG

        4 replies 78 retweets 959 likes
        Show this thread
      3. Tube Time‏ @TubeTimeUS 16 Sep 2020

        here's the problem. the jumper conductor (the horizontal piece that brings a conductor from one side of the tower to the other) has fallen down. you can see the insulator dangling (circled.) but why did it fall?pic.twitter.com/3E2ghZi2jV

        4 replies 90 retweets 911 likes
        Show this thread
      4. Tube Time‏ @TubeTimeUS 16 Sep 2020

        let's look at an insulator up close. they're actually quite large; they just appear small because you're seeing them from the ground. noticed the hook that holds it in place?pic.twitter.com/BOMY5RH5yl

        1 reply 50 retweets 819 likes
        Show this thread
      5. Tube Time‏ @TubeTimeUS 16 Sep 2020

        this hook is called a "C hook."pic.twitter.com/0cil58ICz4

        4 replies 42 retweets 717 likes
        Show this thread
      6. Tube Time‏ @TubeTimeUS 16 Sep 2020

        and this is the C hook on the dangling insulator. looks like part of it broke off, doesn't it?pic.twitter.com/HnpVEWCKM4

        5 replies 57 retweets 816 likes
        Show this thread
      7. Tube Time‏ @TubeTimeUS 16 Sep 2020

        zooming in even closer, you can see something odd about the way the C hook broke off. inspect it with the eye of a materials engineer. what do you see?pic.twitter.com/qBopsM4Ofd

        15 replies 48 retweets 828 likes
        Show this thread
      8. Tube Time‏ @TubeTimeUS 16 Sep 2020

        penciled over in red are wear marks. this hook has been swinging back and forth for a very, very long time -- you can see rust stains (circled in black) the blue circle shows where the hook finally snapped. oh, and this is about an inch in diameter.pic.twitter.com/vtHUDKEdrF

        6 replies 62 retweets 913 likes
        Show this thread
      9. Tube Time‏ @TubeTimeUS 16 Sep 2020

        here is a worn but unbroken C hook, glove for scale. that is a lot of metal to wear through!pic.twitter.com/d9jFQm0M1E

        1 reply 29 retweets 797 likes
        Show this thread
      10. Tube Time‏ @TubeTimeUS 16 Sep 2020

        the C hook hangs from this hangar bracket, and you can see signs of wear on this side, too.pic.twitter.com/MaDaPeTxXI

        5 replies 34 retweets 746 likes
        Show this thread
      11. Tube Time‏ @TubeTimeUS 16 Sep 2020

        so when the C hook broke and the hanger fell, the steel-reinforced aluminum conductor that carries 115,000V bounced and shorted out against the metal side of the tower, spraying chunks of white-hot aluminum across the ground underneath the tower.pic.twitter.com/0iEWxChFy5

        4 replies 87 retweets 975 likes
        Show this thread
      12. Tube Time‏ @TubeTimeUS 16 Sep 2020

        the weather was extremely hot, dry, and windy, and this immediately started a fire.pic.twitter.com/ZSanR0lkQi

        6 replies 78 retweets 1,101 likes
        Show this thread
      13. Tube Time‏ @TubeTimeUS 16 Sep 2020

        the fire spread rapidly, and about 2 hours later, at 8am on November 8th, 2018, entered the nearby town of Paradise, CA.pic.twitter.com/PD3LCMRt1Q

        2 replies 73 retweets 1,157 likes
        Show this thread
      14. Tube Time‏ @TubeTimeUS 16 Sep 2020

        this was the Camp fire, the most destructive in California history, and it burned most of the city to the ground, including my grandparents house.pic.twitter.com/5rwh6QbRlf

        9 replies 86 retweets 1,386 likes
        Show this thread
      15. Tube Time‏ @TubeTimeUS 16 Sep 2020

        (my grandfather had passed away a couple of years before, and my grandmother had moved to a facility scant *months* before the fire)

        2 replies 23 retweets 890 likes
        Show this thread
      16. Tube Time‏ @TubeTimeUS 16 Sep 2020

        sadly, many others were not so lucky, and some were not able to escape the fire, including computing pioneer Bill Godbout (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Godbout …)

        3 replies 30 retweets 858 likes
        Show this thread
      17. Tube Time‏ @TubeTimeUS 16 Sep 2020

        i wanted to add a little more detail on the human cost of the fire but--i just can't do it. i read through the stories and i had to stop. these are people who knew my grandparents, went to church together, participated in civic life. it's too hard.

        10 replies 38 retweets 1,361 likes
        Show this thread
      18. Tube Time‏ @TubeTimeUS 16 Sep 2020

        so let's get back to the engineering talk. remember that worn C hook? how long was it rubbing against the hangar bracket?pic.twitter.com/6gtcF8opOx

        2 replies 55 retweets 967 likes
        Show this thread
      19. Tube Time‏ @TubeTimeUS 16 Sep 2020

        the answer is that we don't know. we think it is about 97 (!) years old, but we're not sure because PG&E (the electric company that owns the lines) didn't keep records about it.pic.twitter.com/OfstxfUIbH

        13 replies 265 retweets 2,151 likes
        Show this thread
      20. Tube Time‏ @TubeTimeUS 16 Sep 2020

        after the fire, many of the pieces were taken to the FBI lab's metallurgical unit at Quantico, and they determined that the C hook was made of cast iron. not all the C hooks on these 100-year old towers were made of cast iron--many were made of steel. but again: no records.pic.twitter.com/8kY4zPWPUR

        4 replies 100 retweets 1,349 likes
        Show this thread
      21. Tube Time‏ @TubeTimeUS 16 Sep 2020

        PG&E knew that this was a problem because at some point they bolted on L brackets and moved the C hooks onto the new brackets, probably concerned that the old bracket hole had mostly worn through. we don't know when they did this because they kept no records.pic.twitter.com/QF4FqbLdfw

        6 replies 101 retweets 1,467 likes
        Show this thread
      22. Tube Time‏ @TubeTimeUS 16 Sep 2020

        and yes, PG&E is legally required to inspect these towers periodically. we don't know exactly when, because (you guessed it) no records from before the year 2000.

        1 reply 88 retweets 1,821 likes
        Show this thread
      23. Tube Time‏ @TubeTimeUS 16 Sep 2020

        the investigating team interviewed troublemen (inspectors for PG&E) to find out exactly how they did the inspections. they were done mostly from helicopters. and despite having official procedures, here's what they did ✅is the tower still standing?

        6 replies 100 retweets 1,677 likes
        Show this thread
      24. Tube Time‏ @TubeTimeUS 16 Sep 2020

        just to pile it on a little more, here's another tower nearby. at some point, the jumper conductor broke, but to fix it, they just pulled it tight and spliced it. think: someone looked at this, with the taught conductor and the insulator pulled up sideways, and said "good enough"pic.twitter.com/LukQDGaWui

        7 replies 63 retweets 1,128 likes
        Show this thread
      25. Tube Time‏ @TubeTimeUS 16 Sep 2020

        there's even documented evidence that PG&E knew about the problem with the C hooks and hangers and yet did nothing.pic.twitter.com/iseQoJGGaz

        2 replies 96 retweets 1,205 likes
        Show this thread
      26. Tube Time‏ @TubeTimeUS 16 Sep 2020

        smhpic.twitter.com/QFlF5fhXpg

        3 replies 52 retweets 931 likes
        Show this thread
      27. Tube Time‏ @TubeTimeUS 16 Sep 2020

        pic.twitter.com/1uprxqL2rP

        1 reply 36 retweets 781 likes
        Show this thread
      28. Tube Time‏ @TubeTimeUS 16 Sep 2020

        i like this used car analogy. basically, they bought a used car and ran it without oil changes until the engine seized.pic.twitter.com/Mm0pVk16e8

        3 replies 94 retweets 1,253 likes
        Show this thread
      29. Tube Time‏ @TubeTimeUS 16 Sep 2020

        sadly, this is not new behavior for PG&E. it's just like the San Bruno gas explosion.pic.twitter.com/uZ0gdhrwQ8

        9 replies 71 retweets 974 likes
        Show this thread
      30. Tube Time‏ @TubeTimeUS 16 Sep 2020

        Tube Time Retweeted Tube Time

        here's my previous thread on the San Bruno gas explosion.https://twitter.com/TubeTimeUS/status/1211454598575058944 …

        Tube Time added,

        Tube Time @TubeTimeUS
        this is the 26 x 72 foot (8 x 22m) crater resulting from the gas pipeline explosion in San Bruno in 2010. the NTSB report is quite fascinating! https://www.ntsb.gov/investigations/AccidentReports/Reports/PAR1101.pdf … pic.twitter.com/Dg0yQm98y3
        Show this thread
        3 replies 72 retweets 850 likes
        Show this thread
      31. Tube Time‏ @TubeTimeUS 16 Sep 2020

        on June 16 of this year, PG&E pled guilty to charges of unlawfully causing a fire and 84 counts of involuntary manslaughter. their penalty? a $4 million fine.

        18 replies 235 retweets 1,572 likes
        Show this thread
      32. Show replies

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