Out on an essential walk and I just walked under some power lines, why do they make that loud buzzing sound? Thank you!
In: Physics
Modern power lines are “AC” or Alternating Current. This means it oscillates back and forth in the lines at 60 times each second.
Electric wires are magnetic, which means physical particles are are aligned in a certain way to make/interact with a magnetic field. Whenever the current changes direction, the tiny magnetic particles change direction as well.
Each cycle means two changes in direction. There are 60 cycles in a second, so all of the little particles vibrate at 120 hertz. They aren’t big enough to see, but they are definitely moving, and that many things vibrating in sync will make a 120hz sound.
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