Cabled up

cyberpunk

japan has a lot of earthquakes and its expensive to put lines underground and maintain. wires are still better than wireless at current technology so we have to just enjoy the cyberpunkian aesthetic

Looks like Spider-Man went on an awesome binge drinking spree last night and left quite a mess in his wake.

That was something that always made Asian cities look a little junky to me - all the above ground cables. Japan isn't as bad as, say, Thailand, however.

Guess it depends on what you are used to seeing. My neighborhood has all the utilities buried. Nothing is above ground. Out on the main street, there are power and fiber connections on poles, but those are clean and appear organized.

https://static1.st8fm.com/en_US/img/si/750/153-extension-cord-safety-wide.jpg

AP photographer Charlie is holed up in quarantine and needs something to do. Looks out his window and says, "Daym...look at all those wires. Shouldn't they be underground?" Welcome to Asia. More specifically..

"Yokoso!"

Your can try to blame the earthquakes.

But, then, water and gas pipes seem to do just right underground.

Can't understand why cables can't be underground as well.

Electrical cables are the only things keeping me from having a perfect ocean view. Wish I could get rid of them.

Because with land shortages the poles under closer inspection are actually full switching electric stations. That's the only place they can put them. In nations with land and sidewalks we bury those transformers or put in cabinets on the ground or they have their own plots of land far far separated from their switching.

Picture of the day? must be a pretty damn boring day for whoever took that and awarded the prize.

Boring photo for those who live here.

Why is the guy on the bicycle bothering with a mask? I’d say he has exceeded the minimum social distance.

Urban planning at its best, why are buildings so close together in an earthquake wouldn’t a domino effect be the result. Newer urban planning is now being used thankfully, Uryasu, and the newer part of Makahari. Neither has overhead cables. It’s a way for certain connected families to both concrete supply and politics to continue making money off the tax payer in the end.

This is a one way street and the bicycle is headed in the opposite direction. The bicycle should technically be on the sidewalk in this case.

vendingmachinemusicToday 01:17 pm JST

This is a one way street and the bicycle is headed in the opposite direction

Nothing new about that.

When i was cycling in Japan, i saw many going the wrong way on a one-way streets

I can agree with most people here today, these wires and poles and transformers, etc, are dam ugly, if they could reduce the amount of wires and furniture by 70% it would be a great benefit. The cost to bury these cable in conduit will cost a fortune, also the roads will have to be closed whilst trunking and other damaged utilities are repaired. and the roads probably would need resurficing, it will be a major undertaking but it will be well worth it in the long run.

In the long run, i wounder if less copper cable will be used? you could also recycle the old copper wires and replace with new copper, and at the same time fiber optic tellephone lines could also be installed, this would benefit office and home owners.

Is there any research as to say its better to have the wires buried especially when it comes to an earth quake, lets face it a huge transformer wasfting around onto of a pole is asking for trouble especially when it falls, and this goes for the cables.

Recycling copper is a good idea.

That is why they bury whatever they can in the US - to prevent 2 guys in a truck from stealing the copper and selling it. https://www.nicb.org/news/blog/thieves-turn-copper-theft-gold

When building underground utility pipes, always build 10x larger than needed. If you need 2.5cm diameter, make it a 25cm diameter pipe for future growth. This avoids all sorts of issues for decades. And fibre optic lines carry 1000x more data today than they did 20 yrs ago. As we become more power efficient, the theory is that less power will be needed ... except in places with electric vehicles, which often need 2-phase power instead of single-phase.

Can't understand why cables can't be underground as well.

Putting cables underground costs 5 - 10 times as much as above ground cables. Wires suspended in air are easier to cool and thus can carry more current than buried cables. Maintenance and repairs become infinitely more difficult too. An underground transformer blew up around the corner from our home a few weeks ago. The damage was such that the power company still needs to provide generators for some customers. The underground cables were damaged and they will probably have to dig up the street to effect a permanent repair. If the transformer had been on a pole the problem would be far less complicated to repair.

In the long run, i wounder if less copper cable will be used? 

Power lines like those shown in the photo are almost always made from braided aluminum wire. Aluminum is a very good conductor and is a lot lighter than copper. Lighter wire material can be thinner and the poles and cross members carrying the wires do not need to be as heavy as would be needed for copper wire.