Jacobs Ladder

Wonderful TimRobbins paranoia flick.

Saw it in philosophy class. Intense.

The term "Jacob's ladder" refers to Genesis 28:12[1], in which Jacob has a vision of a ladder reaching from earth to heaven, used by God's angels.

In Electronics 101 the "Jacobs' Ladder" is a pair of wires in a narrow V configuration that have a zillion volts applied to them. An arc starts down at the bottom of the V, heats the air surrounding it, and slowly rises to the top, where it disappears. Another arc immediately begins at the bottom. You see a lot of these in 1940s and 1950s vintage sci-fi films.

The term is in common use among engineering types, but the context shifts all over the place. Nonetheless, we all know what it means.

Trivia: In Sweden, JacobsLadder was a popular, very cozy, talkshow. To avoid getting the wrong connotations, the film was called Jacob's Inferno.

CategoryMovie, CategoryIdiom