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Using wasted energy, Richard Box was able to get over a thousand fluorescent tubes powered by low overhead power lines.

Richard Box, artist-in-residence at Bristol University’s physics department, got the idea for Field (2004) – 1,301 fluorescent tubes powered only by the electric fields generated by low overhead powerlines – after a conversation with a friend. ‘He was telling me he used to play with a fluorescent tube under the pylons by his house,’ says the artist. ‘He said it lit up like a light sabre.’ Box decided to see if he could fill a field with tubes lit by the ‘waste’ energy emanating from powerlines. Box denies that he aimed to draw attention to the potential dangers of powerlines, ‘For me, it was just the amazement of taking something that’s invisible and making it visible,’ he says.
via channel4
Another one of his projects.

Walter de Maria’s The Lightening Field is permanently installed in the desert at Quemado, New Mexico, and was commissioned by the Dia Art Foundation, who run the site and provide accommodation for visitors. The work consists of hundreds of stainless steel rods projecting from the ground to a uniform height of around six metres (20 feet). Rows of 20 rods extend for one mile, while rows of 16 extend for a kilometre, making a square grid of standard and metric proportions. The work is designed to attract spectacular lightening strikes. (photo: John Cliett/© Dia Art Foundation)
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30 Responses
PENIX
May 10th, 2007 at 11:46 am
1Would love to see this in person… but I don’t want to get cancer from the radiation.
Pita
May 10th, 2007 at 12:19 pm
2Cancer from radiation? There are many different kinds of radiation. You are constantly bombarded by light (that’s radiation), various natural emitters, etc. Electromagnetic radiation is non-ionizing, and even after many, many studies there have been no links to increased cancer rates from power lines.
Kavring
May 10th, 2007 at 2:22 pm
3There might not be any direct evidence, but people who live under power lines have ugly babies.
v300.motofan.ru
May 10th, 2007 at 2:54 pm
4Hah, we can have free electricity! Lets check what guys from Energetic companies will say
SimpleInduction
May 10th, 2007 at 4:12 pm
5Ugh. He’s using ‘waste’ power. By setting up fluorescent tubes near power lines he has caused them to be inductively coupled to those power lines. Meaning they’re drawing their power from the lines just as they would if they were plugged in directly - but far less efficiently. I’m not even going to bother with the throwaway line about ‘the potential dangers of power lines’.
Your geek card is officially revoked.
incubii
May 10th, 2007 at 4:31 pm
6On one of our news shows in Australia a farmer did a similar thing. He stuck large amount of copper under the power lines and ran his house using a similar effect.
that was until he was caught out
WOW: Man Gets 1000+ Flouresent Lights Powered by Overhead Cables [PICTURES] « News Coctail
May 10th, 2007 at 4:50 pm
7[…] Powered by Overhead Cables [PICTURES] Filed under: Uncategorized — recar @ 10:48 pm WOW: Man Gets 1000+ Flouresent Lights Powered by Overhead Cables [PICTURES] Using wasted energy, Richard Box was able to get over a thousand fluorescent tubes powered by low […]
Waaaaaaay Cool Man! « space to imajin
May 11th, 2007 at 8:23 am
8[…] You have got to see this! […]
Draxcascone
May 11th, 2007 at 10:17 am
9Yo! we did this 12 years ago and the power company was pissed!
ZacLohrenz.com » What Is It?
May 11th, 2007 at 10:22 am
10[…] are plain old fluorescent lights, just stuck in the ground. It demonstrates how much electricity is lost. Imagine if we could figure […]
DIAF
May 11th, 2007 at 10:50 am
11[Kavring Said…
There might not be any direct evidence, but people who live under power lines have ugly babies.
]
no people who have ugly babies live under power lines….
and it’s actually really cool
META-DAD » The Beautiful Dangers of High Voltage Lines
May 11th, 2007 at 1:04 pm
12[…] was just the amazement of taking something that’s invisible and making it visible,’ he says. ~ StopGeek.com […]
Motorcycle Guy
May 15th, 2007 at 6:49 am
13This reminds me of telsa in the prestige.
MoggyBC
May 17th, 2007 at 9:27 am
14That electricity is not from “using wasted energy”. There is no ‘wasted engery’ aimlessly wafting around overhead power lines. This guy is inducing an electrical current by placing conductors in an electric field, in effect stealing electricity from the power lines. (It’s the same principle as charging your electric tooth brush.) People go to jail for doing stuff like this.
Justin
May 17th, 2007 at 7:35 pm
15Nicola Tesla would be pleased… Very pleased.
Krunk4Ever! » Blog Archive » Random Crap
May 18th, 2007 at 1:20 am
16[…] Richard Box’s ‘Light Field’ (from Digg) - Using wasted energy, Richard Box was able to get over a thousand fluorescent tubes powered by low overhead power lines. Derek had mention this at work. I think it was Derek and I mentioned it was similar to the scene in The Prestige when the guy lights up all the light bulbs. […]
Man Gets 1000+ Flouresent Lights Powered by Overhead Cables - andrewgentle.com
May 19th, 2007 at 1:19 am
17[…] read more | digg story […]
forkb0mb.org
May 21st, 2007 at 8:51 pm
18Richard Box’s “Light Field”
Richard Box’s “Light Field”
/*
Truly amazing. That’s all I’ll say.
*/
bob
May 23rd, 2007 at 7:37 am
19By putting the tubes under the power lines does the “experiment” draw more power from the lines than would normaly be “spilled”?…..like shorting an electrical line to a ground?
bob
May 23rd, 2007 at 7:42 am
20“oops”….i guess MoggyBC already addressed that!!! sorry
Shaul
May 24th, 2007 at 10:47 am
21if you think that the powerlines are being drained more by the lights, you’re crazy because of the fact that every line has a current which produces an electric field, It is at a constant rate, There would be no change in the power running through, he is using the fields strength which will always be there, to power the lights that, There would only be a greater power drain if the lights were directly connected to the lines
DAR DARS
Hostgator » Blog Archive » WOW: Man Gets 1000+ Flouresent Lights Powered by Overhead Cables [PICTURES]
May 29th, 2007 at 12:56 am
22[…] Richard Box was able to get over a thousand fluorescent tubes powered by low overhead power lines.read more | digg […]
Josh
June 6th, 2007 at 10:12 am
23Sorry Shaul. That’s not quite correct logic. By introducing conductors you are inductively “connecting” those bulbs to the power line and are drawing energy from it, just like SimpleInduction said in his post.
The exact same thing happens in your home with pretty much every single electronic device by the use of transformers, such as your power bricks. Unless your device directly runs on 110V/220VAC there is not a direct copper path between your device and the wall. The wall current runs through a set of transformer coils, the primary winding, which inducts a current on the secondary winding which then runs to your device, never once having a complete conducting path between them.
The idea is that the changing electric field (this is why we use AC rather than DC) induces an EMF which opposes this change in nearby conductors. This EMF sets up a current in the conductor which then produces an EMF at the power-line which opposes the flow of current in the line. In the same manner that the power-line produces a force on the electrons in the bulbs, the bulbs produce a force on the electrons in the power-line pushing them backwards, so more energy is needed to keep them moving. This energy comes from the power company.
Xenu
July 27th, 2007 at 11:11 pm
24The fact that power lines create an electric field of sufficient magnitude to reach the ground doesn’t make me too thrilled to be anywhere near them in the future. Better safe than sorry, and I’m sure government and industry scientists only present the facts about EMFs that are beneficial to their financial interests.
Daniel
August 10th, 2007 at 5:01 am
25I have to say, that I could not agree with you in 100% regarding , but it’s just my opinion, which could be wrong
Daniel
August 15th, 2007 at 6:19 am
26I couldn’t understand some parts of this article , but I guess I just need to check some more resources regarding this, because it sounds interesting.
Darkflame
September 4th, 2007 at 6:06 am
27“industry scientists only present the facts about EMFs that are beneficial to their financial interests.”
Yes, because no sciencetist would ever live anywhere near powerlines…..
Zaid Bethanie
September 19th, 2007 at 1:26 pm
28your dating other guys, your telling me lie. Zaid Bethanie.
Buy levitra
September 26th, 2007 at 9:41 pm
29Hello
Great book. I just want to say what a fantastic thing you are doing! Good luck!
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lynne
October 16th, 2007 at 7:47 pm
30however, from what i’ve been told… the power company sued him and *lost* the case.
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