rdnelson99;752260 wrote: Not exactly. What happens with high voltage lines, when de-energized is they become a like capacitor. To avoid getting shocked, they ground the wires to bleed off any capacitive charge that would otherwise build up. When the lines are energized that is not a factor. But, if they work on a live circuit, they absolutely do not want to "build up the charge" slowly. Building the charge up slowly causes current to flow. Flowing current is what does the harm to the body. They want to achieve a voltage balance almost instantaneously to avoid that from happening. The problem is that if they were to reach over and grab the line, even if they were suspended in mid-air, the difference of potential between their body and the line would cause an arc (what you see in arc welding). The arc would burn them or blow off limbs. To avoid this, they stand on a metal plate in the bucket of the truck. The bucket is isolated from the ground by the fiberglass boom. The plate has a wire with a clamp on it. Using a fiberglass pole they reach over with the wire and connect it to the transmission line. That way, the spark happens away from them and at the same time, they become instantly at the same potential as the transmission line. Now, they can safely reach over and grab hold of the line all they want.
