Leyden jar dangerous?

[Grumage]

Dear Cherryman.

Yes it's an AC output in the low kHz range. Try attaching an HV diode from a microwave oven.

If you haven't damaged your glass ball try putting a strip of Aluminium foil on the glass and pick up with the diode from it.

Now, to reiterate TK, this electric stuff is VERY DANGEROUS please be careful.

Kind regards, Graham.

[Cherryman]

Dear Cherryman.

Yes it's an AC output in the low kHz range. Try attaching an HV diode from a microwave oven.

If you haven't damaged your glass ball try putting a strip of Aluminium foil on the glass and pick up with the diode from it.

Now, to reiterate TK, this electric stuff is VERY DANGEROUS please be careful.

Kind regards, Graham.

Thank you Grumage,


AC also,  hahah..   days of frustration suddenly makes sense.


I was almost gonna make a VDG or something to get a charge and give up on the electronics because i get easy charge results just with some pvc and a cloth.


I have a broken down Microwave, lets see if i can find that Diode.
If I remember correctly its the one straight on the major capacitor?  ( Yes, I decharge that first )


You prefer the glass ball and the alufoil  in between as an extra safety ?


I did learn a lot along all these attempts and i also thank you for you extra safety warning.


RK

[pomodoro]

Tesla coils are safe simply because they are RF sparks, not DC or low freq AC. RF at the kHz range  travels on the skin and doesn't penetrate the body. I've got a hand held Tesla that gives strong  one inch sparks and it tickles, but the one inch induction coil sparked at 50Hz with a cap charged to 500v at the primary nearly killed me. Body tensed up and couldnt move, and jolts kept coming. Both sparks look the same to the naked eye. Don't F@@k with HV DC  or low freq HV AC.

[Cherryman]

I could not find that diode : (  .. It must be somewhere in a box when i dismantled the microwave )


The thing i thought would be the simplest about my experiment, starts to become the most difficult ; )

But.. another option maybe.

I picked up this little beauty at the second hand shop:
A air cleaner with a negative ion generator inside.
Are those AC also ?  ( before I demolish another thing )

Can I use that?

[sm0ky2]

Semiconductor grade capacitors can store a lot of energy
So I am not going to say that it is not 'possible' to set up
A circuit to an ESG that could be potentially harmful.


That being said, I cannot seem to find a single validated
reference to death by ESD. Every case I have found
involved some other factor- fire or explosions caused by gas ignition
pace makers or other medical electronics failing, etc.
The average home-made Leyden jar holds 1/1000th of
What passes through your body from a Tazer or stun-gun
Both of which are considered "non-lethal".


The average (pair of) Leyden jars holds less than 1/8000th
Of the energy going through a defibrillator (thing that restarts
your heart at the hospital).


It is deadly? After 2,000 years of experimentation, there is
little to no historical record of ESD doing any more than
startling an unsuspecting target.


If anyone has reference to a death caused by electrostatics
It would be interesting to read about.


1MV @ 100pf = 0.1A for 1 millisecond??
(average current throughout the discharge)
It is doubtful that a home experimenter is going to achieve
even something that large.


To put that into perspective, an averaging of lightning strikes
(Which are only sometimes deadly) estimates roughly
100,000 Amps for 10-30 microseconds.
An ESD from a cloud the size of your house represents a clear
and present danger. A small piece of aluminum on your desk...
Not so much.


The word from ESG authorities worldwide, has thus far been the
same comment to me ( although sometimes worded differently)
people that have spent their entire lives he's working with static
electricity have said basically the same thing.
They have all taken and given shocks of ungodly potential
With no long-lasting ill effects. They have never seen nor
heard of an actual death caused directly by ESD.
From my conversations with them, their labs and offices
we're much better equipped to produce and store these
charges than anything I am capable of at home.


I am not trying to undermine anyone's safety here.
You should always use precautions and do not intentionally
Shock yourselves or others with experimental HV ESD's.
But the danger is being grossly over exaggerated here.


I can find lots of references to people drowning in a glass of
water or a bowl of soup. But no death by ESD?
If anyone has a reference to something like this, please
share with the group.


Now - electronic driver circuits that produce HV
Most certainly ARE dangerous!!!
So if you are toying with NST's or plasma circuits
Please be careful.


I have no estimated voltage range of my particular modified
Voss machine. I can punch holes in rated electronics grade
Electrostatic Insulation, I can measure a spark gap over 1ft
Through open air.
However, even with a 100kV electrostatic meter, the needle
goes crazy just walking into a small room that has been
Ionizing for a couple hours.
Impedance of air at its' ground state can be estimated,
But when the same air is partially ionized, the impedance
can change drastically. So for me, the size of the spark gap
Is not an accurate indicator of the true voltage potential.


I've hit myself with 12 Leyden jars, (6 &6 in parallel)
With no harm. These were large size Mason jars
Lined with aluminum inside and out. With and without
Salt water (different salts were experimented with)


My neighbor down the street shocks himself every time
he is here while I have the machine running.
I use him as my "volt meter".
He tells me when the jolts get more intense as I adjust
The machine.


If I thought this machine could be even remotely harmful
I wouldn't allow him to do this.


The 10-gallon bucket Leyden jar that has been going around
the internet is stated to be dangerous. These can reliably
charge upwards to 50kv (some reports are higher).
However, their capacitance is much larger than a small glass
Jar. So there may be some truth to the danger of a jar that size.
This is still significantly less than a Tazer and take some time to
charge up.