Update September 30th, 2010: A back of the envelope calculation suggests that the entire 12"x4" section did not vaporize. Rather, the numbers are consistent with 5-10% of the bar (0.25-0.5 kilograms) vaporizing and dispersing the rest, as a hot mist, throughout the enclosure. No less impressive though.


On September 24th, 2010 there was a 'failure' in one of the primary power feeds in the physical plant for Bloomberg hall. This failure resulted in the nearly instanteous vaporization of a 12"x4" section of tin-coated copper busbar (basically a big rectangular power cable) that coated everything in the enclosure (~15 ft. long) with a thin layer of copper and also severely melted, burned, and fused the insulation and wires inside the enclosure. The pictures below do not do it full justice, but note in the upper left panel the section of bar that is missing (not melted down, but "gone" as in vaporized) and the copper sheen on many of the surrounding parts. In the bottom two images, note that there are many exposed wires and drips of insulation. In the upper right image, which is of a non-vaporized power feed of similar make, note that almost everything has a coating (in particular, note the insulating spacers between the busbars; before this incident, they were bright red, like the panel behind. They are now copper and carbon impregnated and will probably need to be replaced).


Bus Bar Burnout

Photos courtesy of Res. Prof. Christopher Falzone