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Interesting idea, but I don’t see any mention on how they deal with the power line stretching. As power draw goes up, the electric company pumps more juice, whi
by orev 6y ago
Interesting idea, but I don’t see any mention on how they deal with the power line stretching. As power draw goes up, the electric company pumps more juice, which heats up the cable and in summer months it gets so hot (everyone using A/C), that the wires start to stretch and sag. The fiber would need to deal with that.
- corty 6y agoIf it is wrapped, the spiral form will provide the necessary slack. You just need to wrap tighter in summer and looser in winter when installing the fiber.
- HPsquared 6y agoI don't think overhead power lines heat up much in normal operation, given the economics involved. They will definitely expand/contact in line with ambient conditions however, and also must be flexible enough to sway in the wind without causing excessive abrasion between the cable and fibre. Edit: the helical wrap would probably expand/contact more than the electrical cable, as it'd be "wider" overall.
- madcow2011 6y agoThis is interesting, I've never heard of this. How much stretching/sagging are we talking about? (I.e. a couple of inches difference, or is it a large amount)