Very odd occurance

[Enraged Slith]

One walking path near my home is lined with power lines which hum and buzz menacingly, particularly in the rain. While taking my dog for a walk today, we traveled down the path, when near the end he stumbled and wobbled a bit. It was a hot day and he's an old dog, so I bent down to check his temperature. Oddly enough, his skin was painful to the touch, almost as if he was boiling, but that didn't make any sense. It felt like thousands of tiny little needles repeatedly jabbing into my hand and up my arm. I checked him again, and the pain ceased after a few seconds with a low buzz. This is a sensation I've always associated with being shocked by electricity, but I have no idea how my dog could have been electrically charged like that. Anyone know what might have happened or if this is a red flag I should alert someone about?

[Tarson]

It seems like a surge in the power high enough to send electricity through the insulation(might have been old/weak to begin with) and down the poll to give your dog a shock. Aside from replacing the insulation not much anything anyone could do about it. Power surges are somewhat common. Might want to have the dog looked at just to be sure it wasn't hurt.

[JSMany]

Was your dog okay? Did he make any noise when he stumbled?

[Enraged Slith]

Yeah, he seemed fine. No noise, he just kept wobbling and sniffing around at the ground. He's old, there's something wrong with one of his hind legs, and it was hot out, so the woozy stumble could have been due to a number of things. Either way, I carried him back the rest of the way and he was perfectly fine.

 

Now out of my face, punk.

[Lord Safey]

almost sounds like what happens when you get too close to a tesla coil

[Dantius]

Originally Posted By: Lord Safey

almost sounds like what happens when you get too close to a tesla coil

Did you allow Thomas Edison anywhere near your dog? He might electrocute him with AC to prove Tesla wrong!

[Rowen]

Desmond had no problems with tesla coils.

[Aran]

Originally Posted By: Lord Safey

almost sounds like what happens when you get too close to a tesla coil

Indeed, induction may be an explanation.

What you experienced seems obviously not a direct electrocution from the powerline, since you are still alive. High voltage alternating current tends to induce electrical currents in nearby pieces of metal. I touched the aluminum mast of a dinghy once while towing it underneath a power line, and got an unpleasant tingling sensation.

A different question is what your dog touched that might be inductive - he's not made of metal himself, after all.

[Student of Trinity]

As a physics professor qualified to teach and examine electrodynamic theory, I feel I should point out a subtle but important feature of this episode which everyone so far seems to have missed:

 

This was bad. Try not to do it again.

[cfgauss]

I wouldn't think that the electric field near the ground would be large enough to notice. I could see moving a large aluminum pole under one causing some hilarious problems though.

 

For example, when you drive under power lines while your radio is on, you don't normally notice anything unless they're high-voltage lines, and even then the interference isn't always enough to entirely drown out the radio. And the current induced by radiation in your antenna is pretty small, so the induced current from the lines shouldn't be too much larger than that.

 

I would think it's much more likely that there's some kind of grounding problem, or a downed line touching the ground nearby, and there was actually current flowing through you from the line.

 

So, you might want to call the power company and tell them about this since it seems like a potentially dangerous problem...

[Dantius]

Originally Posted By: Student of Trinity

As a physics professor qualified to teach and examine electrodynamic theory

Well, I have a PhD in theoretical physics, another PhD in molecular biochemistry, five postgraduate degrees at Harvard, Stanford, Cambridge, Oxford, and the Sorbonne in engineering, multivariable calculus, Shakespearian and also modern literature, computer science, in fields of history ranging from protoagricultural Sumeria to modern Zambian politics.

And I am fluent in English, French, Spanish, German, Russian, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and Arabic.

And I have an IQ of +7 standard deviations from the mean, and Gene Ray's personal declaration of myself as "Cubic and Second Wisest HUMAN", due to my mastery and understanding of his website.

Also, I'm a member of the Illuminati.

[cfgauss]

Saying you have a degree in calculus is kinda like saying you have a degree in spelling.

[Triumph]

Originally Posted By: Dantius

Originally Posted By: Student of Trinity

As a physics professor qualified to teach and examine electrodynamic theory

Well, I have a PhD in theoretical physics, another PhD in molecular biochemistry, five postgraduate degrees at Harvard, Stanford, Cambridge, Oxford, and the Sorbonne in engineering, multivariable calculus, Shakespearian and also modern literature, computer science, in fields of history ranging from protoagricultural Sumeria to modern Zambian politics?

And I am fluent in English, French, Spanish, German, Russian, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and Arabic?

And I have an IQ of +7 standard deviations from the mean, and Gene Ray's personal declaration of myself as "Cubic and Second Wisest HUMAN", due to my mastery and understanding of his website?

Also, I'm a member of the Illuminati.

Yes, but how many of you does it take to put in a lightbulb?

[Student of Trinity]

Oh, well. There's always going to be someone smarter and more educated than you are, no matter who you are, unless you're Gene Ray.

[Alorael at Large]

Originally Posted By: Student of Trinity

As a physics professor qualified to teach and examine electrodynamic theory, I feel I should point out a subtle but important feature of this episode which everyone so far seems to have missed:

This was bad. Try not to do it again.

(Emphasis added.)

Oh really, mister scientist? I do believe that xkcd begs to differ!

—Alorael, who somehow gets the sense that somehow the intent behind SoT's post got lost. Besides, the take-away point is that theoretical physics and some other extraneous degrees are not quite equal to the mental potential (in volts) of a real physicist.

[JSMany]

Originally Posted By: Enraged Slith

Yeah, he seemed fine. No noise, he just kept wobbling and sniffing around at the ground. He's old, there's something wrong with one of his hind legs, and it was hot out, so the woozy stumble could have been due to a number of things. Either way, I carried him back the rest of the way and he was perfectly fine.

Glad to hear your dog was okay.

And Dantius, your geek penis may be bigger than all of ours combined, but I feel the need to point out that I'm hotter than you.

[Men are from Slars]

*facepalm*

[Enraged Slith]

Oh no, I'm now a Wereschnauzer. Or is this a good thing?

[Student of Trinity]

Well, you'll now get a tingling in your Schnauzersense whenever there's a mailman in the vicinity. Or if you need to urinate.

[Aran]

Originally Posted By: Enraged Slith

Oh no, I'm now a Wereschnauzer. Or is this a good thing?

Don't you have to get bitten by a radioactive dog rather than just touch an electrocuted one?

(Also, could someone please work on disinterring and irradiating Carl Sagan so we can get this?)

[JSMany]

Originally Posted By: Student of Trinity

Well, you'll now get a tingling in your Schnauzersense whenever there's a mailman in the vicinity. Or if you need to urinate.

Does this mean he also gets the ability to sniff his own butt and lick himself?

[Enraged Slith]

Originally Posted By: JSMany

Originally Posted By: Student of Trinity

Well, you'll now get a tingling in your Schnauzersense whenever there's a mailman in the vicinity. Or if you need to urinate.

Does this mean he also gets the ability to sniff his own butt and lick himself?

Irrelevant, I can already do this.