Re: The Geek Group High Voltage Capacitors, making a HV switch, (fwd)

["High Voltage list" <hvlist@xxxxxxxxxx>]

Original poster: Steven Roys <sroys@xxxxxxxxxx>



---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Sun, 05 Nov 2006 06:26:58 -0800
From: Jim Lux <jimlux@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: High Voltage list <hvlist@xxxxxxxxxx>, hvlist <hvlist@xxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: Re: The Geek Group High Voltage Capacitors, making a HV  switch,
      (fwd)


>
>The short circuit energy in these capacitors cannot be adequately
>described in an email. They will not give you a second chance... never,
>ever, forget this.
>
>Bert
>--


Truly.  Charged capacitors like this are scary. More so than, say, 
explosives with the cap installed. At least the explosives can't 
"reach out and grab you" or, more likely, make a giant bugzapper.

I was working on my system with the caps charged up to a few kJ, the 
hiss of corona in the air, and a fly landed on one of the conductors, 
and, it would appear, creating a field concentration of sufficient 
magnitude to  result in a breakdown.  Loud noise, broken parts, smoke 
in the air, and a thoroughly frightened experimenter.  This is like 
having someone fire a shotgun next to you without any warning 
(including spraying shrapnel around).

Lessons learned: enclose the gear - leave LOTS of room between HV 
parts and other things - make sure that if flashes over, it goes 
somewhere *relatively* harmless - better to break parts than people.

Jim