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Vlogger Jeff Geerling wanted to clear up just what might happen if he touched a 6kW AM transmitter's antenna.
IMPORTANT: Do not attempt to replicate our experiment. It is meant to demonstrate the dangers of RF, and there are a number of radio engineers, landscaping professionals, and other personnel who have written RF safety rules with their blood (or, in most cases, a permanent and painful RF burn that goes through the inside of their body). Don't touch radio towers—AM or otherwise.
[...] You really should watch the video for the full effect, though. Pictures can't convey what happens.
I predicted the hot dog would either explode, or do pretty much nothing. My Dad imagined there would be some arcing.
Well, he was right—the hot dog wound up being a very effective loudspeaker, transmitting the audible sound with pretty high fidelity, at a volume around that of a yelling human, maybe 80-100 dBa. (Next time we attempt such an experiment, we may bring a dB meter and spectrum analyzer to judge the sound reproduction capabilities of different meats1).
The bottom line is that experts recommend not messing with live towers. The fence is there for a reason.
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday March 31 2024, @05:21PM (2 children)
What effect does standing within 2 meters of a 6KW AM antenna have on the body?
(Score: 2) by RS3 on Monday April 01 2024, @02:13AM
Probably nothing. Because skin is somewhat conductive, it would absorb some energy and maybe warm a bit, depending on how close you are, the total KW, etc., but that's all. Close enough and much higher frequencies you might worry about burning your corneas or optic nerve, which is the worry with microwave oven leakage.
(Score: 2) by RS3 on Monday April 01 2024, @02:24AM
I meant to add: that 6 KW is radiating outward over the entire height of that tower, so the watts per square centimeter at 2 meters away is pretty low. I could probably calculate it but I'd need to know the height of the tower, and I'm too tired... you'd just look at the surface area of a cylinder with 2 meter radius and whatever that height is. Okay you roped me in. So figure maybe 120 meter height * pi * 2 meters = 754 square meters, so 6 KW / 754 = ~ 8 watts per square meter. Not much!