Time for #WhatsItWednesday, Towers of Power edition. What’s up with these towers?

@cliffordbeshers They are in a magazine inside a car, and we can see the reflections of the mountains in the windshield/window.

@odd well, that’s interesting, but I have no idea what you mean.

@cliffordbeshers Oh…then I have no idea.

@odd The scene is just as it appears,with transmission lines on high towers running along the valley floor. The explicitly question is, "Why are those two towers so differently shaped?" I think I was overly obscure asking the question.

@cliffordbeshers Just venturing a guess: one requires more material to be stable; the other uses cables anchored to the ground

@tinyroofnail True, I think, but there's a more fundamental difference in their use, and I think that is what drives the difference in design.

@cliffordbeshers I’ve exhausted my expertise. I’m going to go charge my iphone, watch some tv, and move some leftovers from the fridge to the microwave 🤓

@cliffordbeshers …which also reminds me of this Bargatze bit

@tinyroofnail Lol I enjoyed the comedy bit. But no worries, my neighbor is the one who clued me in to this and I told him this evening I'm sure I'm getting the details wrong. But you were right, the narrow tower is easy to raise up, but needs the guy wires and still won't carry the same load.

So why would one set of lines be lighter?

@odd You might find the answer in a band name.

@cliffordbeshers It could have been a “stick up” also.

@odd What I thought was the sky is the far away mountains it seem, thats why I thought it was reflections in a window.

@odd @tinyroofnail So the answer is: AC/DC. The tower on the left carries High Voltage DC current, the tower on the right HVAC. And I gather it's not the current type, but the load of the wires that determines the type of tower. The single column with guy wires is far cheaper, and DC setups often have fewer conductors. AC towers have to carry loads from wires in multiples of three, and they often leave room for expansion, so they need structures that are more stable.

All this is my gain, because these towers seem to have so much personality, that I always imagine they are having conversations when I'm not looking.

@cliffordbeshers As a former die hard fan of AC/DC, I should have thought of that! I’m not used to seeing DC wires here, or I’m just not in the know of any.

@odd I've only seen them here, and only knew the difference because my neighbor is an electrical engineer. I've been reinforcing his info with this article.

@cliffordbeshers For one that set out to be a electrician once, there’s a lot I don’t know. Barely took the first year though. I’ve seen single cable undersea cables here, so I guess they are DC then.

@cliffordbeshers Thanks! We were driving from Salt Lake back to Bozeman yesterday, and I kept noticing this pattern along the sides of the highway … and also imagining their conversations. I expect this will be the case now for the rest of my life

@tinyroofnail My work here is done.