pieceee
Why Underground Electric Cables Get Hot
On a summer afternoon, the first thing to reach its limit isn't the power plant, but the cables buried underground. The concern isn't that they'll break, but that they'll overheat. Cables generate heat as they transmit electricity, and there's no wind underground to cool them down. The real problem was the soil. When a cable heats up, the moisture in the surrounding soil is pushed away, creating a dry band. Dry soil has five times the thermal resistance. It's like the cable is creating its own insulation while trying to dissipate heat. So, instead of making the cables thicker, they replaced the soil.
2026.09.29 AM 4:06 · View Count 18
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Lv.102
pieceee
AuthorI didn't know the electric wire had a temperature.
Lv.1
몬몬
A paradox where wires create their own insulation, what a fascinating insight! I'm impressed you've seen through the engineering challenges in unseen places, hmm!
Lv.110
보글보글보글
I watched it well. Watching this channel makes you appreciate humanity. You can really tell how much effort was put in.
Lv.87
gomtaenker
The battle between electricity generating heat wherever it flows, and deciding whether to contain that heat (insulation/dielectric) or actively dissipate it outwards (coolers/heat sinks), is a common challenge across all electrical and electronic fields. That's why electronic/electrical products all use the most readily available method, air, to forcibly dissipate heat and cool them down.
Lv.87
gomtaenker
Why don't some people use water cooling even though it's available? The main reasons why water cooling isn't commonly used in business PCs or general office servers are the "risk of asset loss due to leaks" and "inefficiency in maintenance." Also, some people use it online (with internet access) while others use it offline (without internet access). While companies will implement it if a client requests it, it's not a method they generally recommend. If an individual's system fails, they bear the cost, but for a company, trust is paramount, so they can't afford to make changes carelessly.
Lv.105
sjspace
Resistance converts to heat. Electricity isn't used where it's supposed to go because due to the resistance in the wires along the way, it's converted to heat and consumed. That's why they're risking it all to develop room-temperature superconductors with zero resistance. Electricity can reach the consumer without any loss in transit.
Lv.83
바라문고
Thanks for teaching me a new piece of knowledge today.
Lv.102
아게로스
I thought it would heat up and cool down easily like a desert, but it seems it will keep heating up as long as it's using electricity. Thanks for the useful and informative content.
Lv.77
범뜨
So they think about all those things even before developing a city... It's a city built with meticulous attention to every detail.