Invisible Electrostatic Wall at 3M plant
In August 1980, David Swenson reported an "invisible wall" caused by charged polypropylene film at a South Carolina plant, affecting workers and small objects, highlighting electrostatic challenges in industry.
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In August 1980, David Swenson of 3M Corporation reported an unusual phenomenon at a plant in South Carolina, where workers encountered an "invisible wall" created by a fast-moving sheet of electrically charged polypropylene film. This wall was strong enough to prevent individuals from passing through, causing them to walk backwards to escape. The film, which was being processed at high speeds, generated significant static electricity due to its dissimilar surface structures. Swenson's handheld electrometer registered extreme electrical fields, and he observed that even small objects, like flies, were affected by the charged environment. Initially dismissed by the production manager, the phenomenon was later confirmed during a second attempt in lower humidity conditions, where the charged field was strong enough to raise hair. Theories about the cause of the "invisible wall" suggest it may involve a cloud of ionized air held in place by electrostatic forces, creating a pressure gradient that resists penetration. This incident highlights the complexities of electrostatic phenomena in industrial settings and raises questions about the underlying physics, including the behavior of charged air and its interaction with moving materials.
- David Swenson reported an "invisible wall" phenomenon caused by charged polypropylene film in 1980.
- The wall prevented individuals from passing through, leading to unusual physical experiences.
- The phenomenon was confirmed under specific humidity conditions, affecting even small objects.
- Theories suggest the wall may be due to ionized air creating a pressure gradient.
- The incident illustrates the challenges of managing electrostatic issues in industrial environments.
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- Many commenters expressed skepticism about the feasibility of the phenomenon, questioning the science behind it and suggesting it may be exaggerated or misunderstood.
- Several users shared personal anecdotes related to electrostatics, including experiences with static electricity in various work environments.
- There were calls for further investigation or experimentation to replicate the phenomenon, with references to popular science shows like MythBusters.
- Some comments highlighted the potential applications of such a phenomenon if proven real, likening it to sci-fi concepts like force fields.
- Concerns were raised about the safety implications of high-voltage environments and the effects of static discharge on humans.
36 commentsI was a theater projectionist, back when you had 20 minute reels you had to constantly change, while babysitting two high-voltage, water-cooled, carbon arc projectors. Sometimes the film would break and you’d have to splice it. So when the theater got a print in, you had to count and log the number of splices for each reel, then the next theater would do the same and retire the print when it got too spliced up (plus, sometimes if it was the last night of a run, some lazy projectionists would splice it in place with masking tape and then you’d have to fix it). Sometimes you had to splice in new trailers or remove inappropriate ones as well.
Anyway, you counted splices by rapidly winding through the reel with a benchtop motor with a speed control belted to a takeup reel while the source spun freely. Then, while letting the film slide between your fingers, counting each “bump” you felt as it wound through. I was told to ground myself by touching the metal switch plate of the speed control knob with my other hand. One night I forgot and let go until my hair started rising. I’d gone through most of the reel at a very high speed and acquired its charge.
I reached for the switch plate and shot an 8-10” arcing discharge between the plate and my fingers.
Lesson learned, I held the switch plate from then on.
I strongly suspect instead is that there was a spot where you could really feel the e-field, and people just through rumor and story telling morphed it into "the wall".
One thread about this in 1995, and then the phenomenon is never seen nor heard about again . . .
- https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16299441 (2018)
The non-anomalous effects, like high electric field readings, could linear
The wall only effects living things- birds, bugs and people
My guess is that the wall is mediated by the nervous system and muscle contractions, which unlike electrostatic forces, are free to have thresholds, nonlinearities, and psychological effects. Basically, everyone involved was getting zapped all to heck and any subjective experience is plausible downstream of taking a megavolt to the spine
In the most 2016 update the relative says it's common to see weird effects from the spools. If it's so common it should be reproducible I would think, yet I've never seen it done.
One of the weirdest power scavenging solutions I ever saw used a spark gap and a bespoke transformer to make a reverse Tesla coil - taking the very high, very brief voltage spike of a static discharge and stepping it down to create low voltage over a a longer interval. They attached it to their shoe.
However, a crucial aspect of this phenomenon remains unclear: how does the charge maintain its containment? What prevents the opposing charge from breaking through the insulating barrier and neutralizing the charge? A fascinating analogy from the Boston Science museum offers some insight. Picture yourself inside a gigantic, electrified sphere – akin to a Van De Graff generator. If your charge polarity matches that of the sphere, you'll experience a repulsive force, pushing you toward the center. The harder you try to reach the sphere's edge, the stronger the repulsion becomes.
This phenomenon becomes even more intriguing when considering the context in which it allegedly occurred. A company renowned for its innovative prowess, 3M has consistently demonstrated its ability to harness unexpected effects and transform them into groundbreaking products. The Post-it note's origin story is a testament to this innovative spirit. Given this track record, it's puzzling that 3M seemingly failed to capitalize on this electrostatic phenomenon. One would expect the company to rigorously investigate and replicate the effect, with the potential for a multi-billion dollar industry hanging in the balance. Instead, the story suggests that 3M dismissed the phenomenon as a mere curiosity.
And if anything, in metals I think (???) you can get attraction as free electrons in the neutral body are attracted/repelled towards the charge and the neutral body becomes a dipol (so eg. if the charged body is positively charged then the negatively charged electrons are attracted towards it, and vice versa). But that's weak and acts the wrong way.
Is that the whole experiment?
I think this was my favorite part of the article. These workers apparently hit this force field prior and just figured that was a normal part of the job, who cares.
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Anyone clicking on a link like this is open to traffic injection. With several free automated cert services available, there's no excuse for this other than gross incompetence or laziness.
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The World of Electrostatic Ecology
Insects, including bees, spiders, and moths, utilize static electricity for navigation, predator evasion, and pollen collection, suggesting significant evolutionary implications and complex ecological interactions.
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