It is said that it is now minus 50 degrees Fahrenheit in Chicago (which is the same as -45 degrees Celsius). Can't even believe that they have such a temperature? But Americans have such a feature - they report not the actual, but the perceived temperature (taking into account the wind, etc.). Although it still seems a bit too much:-)
So, the American TV channel ABC News published on its Twitter footage showing how the rails are burning.
What is happening there?
I found such an explanation on the net, but given that journalists sometimes write that, at least stand still, here's to your judgment:
“Due to the extreme cold, the metal shrinks and the rails separate from each other. They are heated until the metal rejoins. A Metrarail spokesman explained that the flames come from gas heaters that are located along the rails."
What kind of nonsense is it about "metal separates … metal joins"?
Wherein…
Promotional video:
The video shows that most of the combustion occurs where the "arrows", i.e. path translation. Most likely they are heated so that they do not get clogged with snow and ice. So?
Or is there some other reason? Why don't we have this?