July 4th and Caps (capacitors that is)

To: Tesla List <tesla-at-poodle.pupman-dot-com>
Subject: July 4th and Caps (capacitors that is)
From: Chip Atkinson <chip-at-poodle.pupman-dot-com>
Date: Tue, 2 Jul 1996 21:56:09 -0600 (MDT)

Greetings,

Admin: I'm going to be on "vacation" the 4th of July and won't be able 
to do the mail list that day, so if you don't see anything then, don't 
worry. This vacation will make me glad to get back to work -- I'm 
helping set up a firework display.


Capacitors:  Before we all get too carried away with liability issues, 
we should consider what has happened with fireworks.  In the early part 
of the century, large, dangerous fireworks (M-80's) were common place 
and quite legal.  Now in the City of Boulder Colorado we can't even 
legally light sparklers.  A few well-publicized injuries and some 
litigation could cause lawmakers to turn their attention to the high 
voltage using "public", and create a situation analogous to the demise 
of fireworks in the US.  I'm not saying that we should keep a tight lid 
on the slightest injury, and act like we are engaged in some illegal 
activity.  I'm saying that we need to be aware of the dangers and 
accept responsibility for protecting ourselves against them.  

Unfortunately, some individuals will be the "guinea pigs" for some 
saftey tests before we realize that a danger exists.
(From now on, you will see my cap in some sort of shielded box or HDPE
 pipe.)

Speaking of HDPE pipes, a year or two ago I thought about HDPE for a coil 
form.  I was thinking of using pyrotechnic mortars because they are 
cheap, strong, and readily available in sizes from 1.5" to 12".  Now, I 
believe that they would make an excellent container for these capacitors.
BTW, I don't believe that they would be useful for forms because they 
probably are conductive (carbon black in the HDPE), and the HDPE is 
slippery and hard to bond to.


	Hoping to avoid flames and off-topic threads as always,

	Chip Atkinson