A Warning About Electrostatic Discharge.....

[silver_bullet]

480 was the voltage I learned not to place your finger on the bare probe with. Path was finger tip to back of hand, I couldn't move my fingers,rotate my wrist,bend my arm or raise it for 2 days,and half my chest felt like I was being sat on all the time.

I got informed yesterday that I am getting moved to a different location in the plant soon...will be servicing medium voltage(5KV) motors and starters again...will have to ground leads before switching leads...5KVmotors make hellatious capacitors...

[Beagle]

I started to pick up a capacitor laying on the counter in a lawnmower shop when I was a boy. Dad swatted my hand, said "I wouldn't do that boy" and then explained why.

Not related so much, but I've had a lot of respect for PC stuff since my first exposure. Years later, we had a guy showing us pc boards in training back in 91. I was laughing at him because he was treating them kind of rough and I thought - watch that backside buddy, even the fiberglass is nothing to play grabass with. He's trying to show the girls in particular that it's nothing that's gonna kill you when.... yep. One of the legs sliced his finger half way to the bone. Looked like Monty Python scene with blood squirting everywhere.

I touch the car before I fill it up. Suprising how many times it zaps the shit out of me. I'd rather it not do that with the gas cap off.

[yellomalibu]

Lol. That was a funny video. I'm glad it wasn't edited (much), because by showing what CAN happen and sometimes does, it seems that it would be more effective as an educational tool.

The guy in the video was able to illustrate what happens by using the higher voltage. Lower voltage that can't be felt can do just as much damage to the circuitry.

I don't work with electronics, but I have on a few occasions opened my computer to change out memory cards. I always keep one hand on the frame to keep me from killing the delicate +/- 5 volt circuitry; a discharge of just 10 or 20 volts wouldn't even be felt, but could zap the low voltage circuits... Or so we were told in electronics school in the military.

[bbnova]

He also disarms bombs to

[Deaf Bob]

I was told in electronics class that lower voltage kills by stopping your heart while higher voltage burns you.. Nobody wanted to test that..

[Leadsledcaprice]

Makes me think of a video where a guy tased himself for the hell of it, then was lying on the ground wiggling around like a fish out of water.

[Caveman Tony]

ahhh... brings me back to the USAF safety videos... where they show the aftermath of static electricity... burned up B-52s, burned down fuel hangars, and fireballs.

[Scott Liggett]

Anyone picked up a magneto and spun the gear? I did. OUCH. DAMN!!!

[TC]

I was told in electronics class that lower voltage kills by stopping your heart while higher voltage burns you.. Nobody wanted to test that..

Voltage doesn't kill, it's "amperage" that kills, meaning you can send 1000 volts though your body at .1 amps and you won't die, but if you send 1000 amps at .1 volts through your body you will die......

[Leadsledcaprice]

Didn't Mythbusters do a show on that? I cant remember, but I think they said .06 amps will kill you.

[TheSilverBuick]

Voltage doesn't kill, it's "amperage" that kills, meaning you can send 1000 volts though your body at .1 amps and you won't die, but if you send 1000 amps at .1 volts through your body you will die......

You probably know this and simply used those numbers as extreme examples, but you have to keep in mind there is still a minimum voltage requirement to overcome the resistance of your body before amps can even move. On another note, when voltage can kill you with minimal amperage is from plasma generated from arc flashes, which is based on voltage. Large voltage allows electricity to jump larger gaps and if you are near one and inhale the incredibly hot plasma and gas it essentially cooks your lungs killing you from the inside out.

[Leadsledcaprice]

Note to self: stay away from substation near work.

Its had a history of going up in flames.

[TC]

You probably know this and simply used those numbers as extreme examples, but you have to keep in mind there is still a minimum voltage requirement to overcome the resistance of your body before amps can even move. On another note, when voltage can kill you with minimal amperage is from plasma generated from arc flashes, which is based on voltage. Large voltage allows electricity to jump larger gaps and if you are near one and inhale the incredibly hot plasma and gas it essentially cooks your lungs killing you from the inside out.

Ya I was just using those numbers as examples........'

Though I wonder how many 10's of Thousand of Volts this guy is getting juiced by......

[173rdherd]

my first lesson on electrostatic shock was on them dang jungle penetrators on the dustoff choppers.....if you grabbed it before it hit the ground once, you'd get a heck of a jolt......learned that quick.

[yellomalibu]

In electronics school, we were told that 10 milliamps could kill you. So generally, yes, it's the current or "amps" that can kill you.

That arc of electricity when you go for the door knob after walking across a carpet or slide out of a car; 1 cm arc is about 30,000 volts... so a 1/4" is about 15,000 volts.

Volts can kill you too, but it's when you get into the lightning sized amounts (millions of volts)... when it blows body parts off, it can be fatal.