Government Lab Tests 'super' Power Cables For NYC

DUNCAN MANSFIELD

OAK RIDGE, Tenn. (AP) — A high-tech power cable designed to prevent rolling blackouts caused by everything from a wayward squirrel to terrorists is being readied for New York City's financial district.

Now undergoing final tests at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, the superconductor cable to be installed in Manhattan next year could prove key to the smart, secure, super grid of the future.

Scientists fired 60,000 amps through a cable during a critical test Tuesday — an electrical jolt comparable to turning on the air conditioning in 2,000 homes at the same time. It was enough juice to lift a 1,000-pound bundle of conventional cable 2 feet off the ground.

But nothing seemed to happen. No sparks, no sound, no movement.

A roomful of invited government and corporate observers waited for an explanation.

"Bottom line is, it worked," said Patrick Murphy, project manager for the Department of Homeland Security. The guests broke into applause.

"It was spectacularly unspectacular, which was exactly what we wanted," said Brad Buswell, Homeland Security's acting undersecretary for science and technology.