science

Street light interference phenomenon

Street light interference phenomenon is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Street light interference phenomenon rather than just read about it. In short: Street light interference, sometimes called high voltage syndrome, is the claimed ability of individuals to turn street lights on or off when passing near them. Believers in street light interference (SLI) allege that they experience it on a regular basis with specific lamps and street lights and more frequently than chance would explain; however, SLI has never been demonstrated to occur in a scientific experiment…

Key takeaways

Street light interference phenomenon belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Street light interference phenomenon to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Street light interference phenomenon from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Street light interference, sometimes called high voltage syndrome, is the claimed ability of individuals to turn street lights on or off when passing near them. Believers in street light interference (SLI) allege that they experience it on a regular basis with specific lamps and street lights and more frequently than chance would explain; however, SLI has never been demonstrated to occur in a scientific experiment, and those who claim the ability have been found to be unable to reproduce the effect on demand. The term street light interference was coined by proponent of paranormal phenomena, author Hilary Evans.

Proponents According to Evans, SLI is a phenomenon "based on claims by many people that they involuntarily, and usually spontaneously, cause street lamps to go out." Evans' 1993 book The SLI Effect proposes that the phenomenon is "not consistent with our current knowledge of how people interact with the physical world." Evans coined the term "SLIder" to refer to someone who allegedly causes this effect, and cites SLIders' claims of being able to "extinguish a row of sodium vapor lamps in sequence, each one going out as the witnesses nears it." Some proponents believe static electricity or "some kind of 'energy' emitted by the human body" is responsible for SLI. Others claim the alleged phenomenon is caused by individuals having psychic or psychokinetic ability.

Reception

Author Massimo Polidoro writing in Skeptical Inquirer has considered claims of SLI to be examples of correlation not implying causation, or of confirmation bias: people are much more likely to notice when a nearby street light turns on or off than they are to notice a light turning on or off at a distance, or a street light in a steady state at any distance. This is compounded by a failure mode of street lights, known as "cycling", in which street lights of the high pressure sodium type turn off and on more frequently at the end of their life cycle. A high pressure sodium engineer at General Electric, quoted by Cecil Adams, summarizes SLI as "a combination of coincidence and wishful thinking". Polidoro notes that a "[p]aranormal phenomenon is the least likely possibility."

See also Association for the Scientific Study of Anomalous Phenomena Deluminator, a fictional Harry Potter device. Intelligent street lighting Pauli effect – Superstition that equipment only fails in the presence of certain people

References

Further reading "Street Light Interference" by Dennis Stacy, Omni (1990) "Street Light Interference" by Robert McMorris, Omaha World-Herald (1990) "Electric Discharge Lamps" by John Waymouth MIT Press (1971) "Human Electromagnetic Interference: A researcher's introduction to the SLIDER effect" by RK Cunningham, [https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0F5K69JGL?ref_=pe_93986420_774957520 KDP] (2025)

External links Evans, Hilary (1993). The SLI effect : street lamp interference : a provisional assessment (PDF). Association for the Scientific Study of Anomalous Phenomena. [Frome]: ASSAP. ISBN 0-9521311-0-2. OCLC 31240127. Morrow, David (1995-08-30). "Close encounters of the street lamp kind". The Independent. Retrieved 2022-09-12.

Illustrations

Street light interference phenomenon: A high pressure sodium street light fixture — A high pressure sodium street light fixture

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Street light interference phenomenon

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Street light interference phenomenon claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Street light interference phenomenon before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Street light interference phenomenon ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Street light interference phenomenon

In research: Street light interference phenomenon appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Street light interference phenomenon in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Street light interference phenomenon is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Street lighting, Telekinesis, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Street light interference phenomenon outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Street light interference phenomenon in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Street light interference phenomenon means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Street light interference phenomenon out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Street light interference phenomenon in simple terms?

Why does Street light interference phenomenon matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Street light interference phenomenon?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Street light interference phenomenon.