ARC Furnace Meltdown by Andy Martin, Field Recordist

An electric arc furnace running a "meltdown" process. Think of it as a giant arc welder. Three giant electrodes, each 8 feet tall and 1 foot across, create a continuous electrical arcing for melting and mixing ingredients used in industrial steel casting. The electrodes never touch the steel themselves, and it's the radiant heat of over 2400° F that melts the ingredients!
The furnace itself is 20 feet across and spits out tiny globs of melted steel throughout the process. Because of the danger, I could only come within 30 feet. Even at that distance, it's once of the loudest things I've ever recorded. With pads on both mics and the level on my 702 nearly all the way down, this still peaked around -9 when recording. Thank goodness for hearing protection!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_arc_furnace

recording miscellany:
Sound Devices 702
mid/ pressure: MKH8060
side/ gradient: MKH30

recorded at Bradken Foundry in Tacoma, WA
Photo courtesy of Elaine Thomas and Bradken Foundry in Tacoma, WA.