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I'd like to see how it works with a salted wet road too - do they turn it off?
by rb808 9y ago
I'd like to see how it works with a salted wet road too - do they turn it off?
- gregschlom 9y agoThey address that concern in the article. They said the voltage on the surface of the track is only 1 volt when the road is flooded with salty water.
- ConceitedCode 9y agoApparently they tested just that - Säll said: “There is no electricity on the surface. There are two tracks, just like an outlet in the wall. Five or six centimetres down is where the electricity is. But if you flood the road with salt water then we have found that the electricity level at the surface is just one volt. You could walk on it barefoot.” They also mentioned they turn off each segment if there is not a car on it. Each segment is 50 meters.
- sgt 9y agoBut will slugs be able to safely cross the road?
- JustSomeNobody 9y agoNo. But in a few generations they'll learn not to. In a few more they'll be expert jumpers.
- verandaguy_alt 9y agoThat's actually reassuring, I'm glad they looked into this. My follow-up concern is, what if, under these salty and wet conditions, something causes a short circuit between the powered rails? e.g., either a defective vehicle-side contact where the anode and cathode allow for the water and salt to close a much smaller gap, or if someone deliberately sticks a piece of metal on there.
- jacquesm 9y agoYou'll get a small steam explosion but there are lots of ways for the pressure to escape, and if the circuitry protecting the 50 meter stretch is fast enough that might not even happen.
- dsfyu404ed 9y agoThey said nothing about the wear characteristics of the rail when covered in salty road crap. Stray current wreaks all sorts of havoc on electric light rail systems. I don't see why this would be different.
- TheForumTroll 9y agoIt is Sweden. If anyone knows salty road crap it is Scandinavians.
- deleted 9y ago[deleted]