the.com/power line
a metal nerve dragging civilization's heartbeat across hundreds of miles at near light-speed.
means A cable, usually strung between towers or poles, that carries electrical power from where it's generated to where it's used.
from A plain compound of two old workhorses. "Power" comes through Old French "poer" from Latin "potere," to be able — the same root behind "potent" and "possible." "Line" traces to Latin "linea," originally a string of flax ("linum"), the thread you'd stretch taut to draw straight. The pairing only became possible once electricity itself became something to send down a wire — so the term belongs to the electrical age, after power started traveling by cable rather than staying where it was made.
- voltage
- transmission lines can carry over 765,000 volts
- the hum
- that buzz is the air itself ionizing
- bird safety
- birds survive by never touching two wires
- speed
- electricity travels near two-thirds light-speed
- reach
- a single line can span entire states
pacific dc intertie — transmission line connecting california and oregon carrying up to 6,270 megawatts since 1970
grand inga dam project — proposed congo river power line to transmit 40,000 megawatts across africa to south africa and beyond
itaipu binacional line — brazilians power transmission at 600 kv from itaipu dam to são paulo, 240 kilometers long