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What happens when you touch a pickle to an AM radio tower

jeffgeerling.com

11–20 of 137 posts

Re: What happens when you touch a pickle to an AM radio tower

#11
post #6

I mentioned over dinner at my parents house (about 20 years ago) that I'd read that running 240v through a gherkin would cause it to glow - and pretty much as soon as dinner was over, my father and I had the experiment set up. Gherkins and even pickled onions glowed brilliantly. I set up a basic site to share the video we'd taken and details of the experiment, and shared it to B3ta. Sadly all lost to time.

Pretty sure my high school physics teacher did this one.

Re: What happens when you touch a pickle to an AM radio tower

#16
post #5

How is it possible that these towers have not been made more difficult to access? Is it usual for them to be secured only by a low fence?!

There's a broader area protected by a high fence with barbed wire. They had access there, cause the father is a radio engineer and have friends on various sites.

Re: What happens when you touch a pickle to an AM radio tower

#17
post #10
post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As soon as some kids jump over the fence and at least one of them ends up in a hospital with a severe condition, those fences will get replaced.

Technically the morgue is in the hospital…

Death is a pretty severe condition, too.

Re: What happens when you touch a pickle to an AM radio tower

#19
post #6

I mentioned over dinner at my parents house (about 20 years ago) that I'd read that running 240v through a gherkin would cause it to glow - and pretty much as soon as dinner was over, my father and I had the experiment set up. Gherkins and even pickled onions glowed brilliantly. I set up a basic site to share the video we'd taken and details of the experiment, and shared it to B3ta. Sadly all lost to time.

"WRL Technical Note TN-13 Characterization of Organic Illumination Systems" https://simh.trailing-edge.com/semi/docs/WRL-TN-13.pdf
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