I get pleasing results with this formula: 
sub tension {
  my ($hi, $lo) = @_;
  $lo or return 0;
  2 * log($lo)/log($hi + .1);
}

[download]
where $hi is the higher number of votes (whichever direction) and $lo is the number of votes in the other direction. Any result above 1 represents an interesting amount of tension, IMO. Here's a table of results:
Hi #Lo #Tension
3 31.9420
8 31.0504
8 81.9881
20 30.7322
20 81.3860
20201.9967
50 30.5614
50 81.0626
50201.5308
50501.9990
90 30.4882
90 80.9240
90201.3312
90501.7383
90901.9995
Caution: Contents may have been coded under pressure.

In reply to Re^3: Node Tension by Roy Johnson
in thread Node Tension by mojotoad

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