
"Invisible Electrostatic Wall" at 3M adhesive tape plant (1996) - slyall
http://amasci.com/weird/unusual/e-wall.html
======
dm2
Here is a more detailed article and a nice drawing to help you imagine how the
rollers were arranged.

[http://aha.miraclegreat.com/2/post/2012/05/invisible-
electro...](http://aha.miraclegreat.com/2/post/2012/05/invisible-
electrostatic-wall-at-3m-adhesive-tape-plant.html)

Can someone post this in the Mythbusters forums and try to get them to attempt
to replicate this?

~~~
sodiumphosphate
Oh yes, please.

edit: I submitted the request at [http://dsc.discovery.com/tv-
shows/mythbusters/show-talk/ejec...](http://dsc.discovery.com/tv-
shows/mythbusters/show-talk/eject-your-reality.htm).

------
Titanous
Previously: <https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3274335>

------
smoyer
"... fix it or sell tickets." - I'd pay a little something to play with an
obviously real, but undefined effect like that.

------
josephpmay
Could this possibly be the person referenced in the
story?[<http://www.linkedin.com/pub/david-swenson/18/589/b52>] Has anyone
tried contacting him to see if the story is real (and if so, if they ever
figured out what caused it?)

~~~
JavaJabba
A co-worker who had worked at the 3M plant at the time told me this story in
2010. I emailed him, he knows David Swenson so maybe I can get David's opinion
on the article.

~~~
wbeaty
Note that the amasci.com article is about David Swenson's conference talk
about the phenomenon, here's the copypaste:

[http://web.archive.org/web/19961226041803/http://www.att.com...](http://web.archive.org/web/19961226041803/http://www.att.com/conferences/eosesd/s7.htm)

    
    
       SESSION 7: SPECIAL SESSION, 17th Annual EOS/ESD Symposium
       THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 1995, 8:00 am
       
       SESSION 7: SPECIAL SESSION: ELECTROSTATIC CONSIDERATIONS IN INDUSTRY
       
       MODERATOR: D. Swenson, 3M
       
       7.7 CASE STUDY - LARGE PLASTIC WEB ELECTROSTATIC PROBLEMS, RESULTS AND
       CURE, D. Swenson, 3M Company
       Tremendous static charge generation on a plastic web causes unique
       physical phenomena and special problems. Solution was simple and cost
       effective.
    

The real question ...was this "star trek physics," or really just a human-
nerve TENS effect; temporary muscle paralysis caused by static discharges all
over the victim's skin? They never threw a baseball down the tunnel to see if
it halted.

------
ck2
Probably also generating a massive dose of x-rays.

<http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/28/science/28xray.html?_r=0>

I wonder if there has ever been a cancer cluster found at such plants?

~~~
asdfs
X-rays are only produced by the unrolling of tape in a vacuum. So presumably
no risk here.

------
ColinWright
<http://xkcd.com/242/>

------
killermonkeys
Rather than try to replicate a really complicated set of conditions, why not
see if ionized air blown at an object in a wind tunnel causes more pressure
than non-ionized air? The crux of the theory appears to be that a cyclon of
ionized air was set up that was unable to attach to the sheet.

Generating a vortex of air is pretty common, a lot of industrial mixers and
sifters do this. It's what inspired Dyson to make his vacuum.

------
X4
I've read this already 2 years ago and discussed it with our Physics prof.
It's definitely wrong. Otherwise I'd like to see a proof.

~~~
retrogradeorbit
Of course your physics professor (and their books) definitely knows everything
in the world without needing to venture outside or do any real world
experiments. And they certainly couldn't be a fragilista[1] nor could they
possibly have God Complex[2].

Seeing as your professor is all knowing, maybe they could finally tell us all
how lithium polymer batteries work [3]?

1: [http://www.amazon.com/Antifragile-Things-That-Gain-
Disorder/...](http://www.amazon.com/Antifragile-Things-That-Gain-
Disorder/dp/1400067820) 2: <http://www.ted.com/talks/tim_harford.html> 3:
<https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5124170>

~~~
Snoptic
I have a cold fusion reactor in my basement. It extracts free energy from the
vacuum and it powers my car instead of gasoline.

Since you are antifragilist and don't have a God Complex, you are well suited
to invest in my project to commercialize this technology!

~~~
marvin
There is a huge difference between believing that energy conservation is wrong
and believing that there could be unexplored avenues in the technological
application of electrostatic forces.

~~~
DennisP
I'm not a cold fusion zealot but I don't think it's correct to say that it
would violate energy conservation, since they are talking about nuclear
reactions converting mass to energy, just like fission and fusion. It's just
that they're talking about unusual reactions that most scientists think are
implausible.

------
sodiumphosphate
Doesn't it seem more plausible that someone just executed a prank with a sheet
of plastic, and a myth grew up around it?

~~~
b6
I appreciate skepticism, but come on. You wouldn't be able to tell the
difference?

~~~
wbeaty
The original report was a presentation at an ESD conference, not a rumor or
FOAF.

I heard about it from a tech at an EMI testing lab in 1996, tracked down Dave
Swenson's email at 3M, and posted the article on amasci.com.

Some extra info: Dave S. mentioned that the experience was a bit painful,
since corona discharges were leaping from his whole body at the time. He said
he was unable to turn around while near the "invisible wall," and had to walk
backwards to get away from it.

Also, he described the whole plant having serious ESD hazards: tape on floor
to mark pathways, and if you left the path, you might get zapped by a mini-
lightning from some ungrounded machine.

