Re: Riding t-loads, and other dangerous stuff.

["Tesla list" <tesla-at-pupman-dot-com>]

Original poster: "Terry Fritz" <twftesla-at-qwest-dot-net>

Hi,

Before the moderator kills this increasingly off-topic thread... ;-))

Perhaps we should also hear of one of our own lists member's experience
with explosives...  Just like many young experimenters have been killed by
NSTs, many have been killed by explosive too.  Listen to how "it" was
described by one fortunate enough to live to tell about it...

http://www.pupman-dot-com/listarchives/1998/November/msg00029.html

99.999% of the time things go well, but that other 0.001% sure sucks...  If
one wants to learn about doing something safely, don't study the fun
successes that "make it look easy", study the horrible disasters and talk
with the people that have to deal with the mess the ambulance brings in.
They remind us why 99.99% of us don't go there...

Not to be too morbid...  But if you want to know what touching 16600 volts
(like from a high power pole pig) is like, check out this fella:

http://hot-streamer-dot-com/TeslaCoils/Misc/sparky_2.doc

Here is a kid that sprayed his hand with bug spray and lit it on fire.
Hey!  It worked on TV...

http://abcnews.go-dot-com/sections/us/CaughtOnTape/010406CaughtOnTape_video_feat
ureblank.html

If one wants to play really close with electricity, get on the web and
study the pages you find with a search of "electrical injuries" like:

http://www.rsdrx-dot-com/electrical_injuries.htm

I have worked with many people who work with high voltages (like 330,000V
1000 amp three phase) all the time.  They are really dull "by the book"
folks.  The exact opposite of the typical dare devil.  They live a long time...

So if you want the "whole story", don't forget to check out the "bad"
stories too.  They save a lot more people lives than the fun stories...


Have a happy (and safe :-))) Fourth of July!!

Cheers,

	Terry


At 08:08 PM 7/3/2001 -0500, you wrote:
>Way to go!!!, I thing people should hear this view more often.  There are
>too many ingorant people out there and alot of it has to do with censorship
>and manytimes that people are scared to say something wrong or admit that
>they don't know.  We do learn by our mistakes, but, there are some mistakes
>that we cannot aford to make.  As a experimenter myself (as are most on this
>list) I played with home made explosives(gun powder and this neat exploding
>paint only), hi voltage electricity, chemistry, lasers, among many other
>things all on my own with no guidance.  I received a few suprises, but
>nothing really serious.
>The rf burns that was being talked about grabbed my attention, I had built a
>flyback driver (~300watts) back in high school.  This generator could burn
>would from an inch away or more with a plasma stream, turn the tip of a
>metal scribe white hot with an arc, arc an inch off the glass globe of a 4"
>light bulb used as a plasma globe, and other cool stuff.   Ohh it made a
>good jacobs ladder too.  Well I took hundreds of shots off this thing and
>each time it would leave a dark pit on the tip of my finger, but after the
>initial hit, it was bearable.  Please no FLAMES on that one.  I wonder if it
>did any other damage besides the burned pit in my finger.  I recal no long
>term affects!.  Also the sunburn from an argon laser I had for a while was
>quite a suprise.  I didn't know UV light would be given off by the
>ionization process.   =8 (
>
>
>-------partial snip-------
>> When I was young, I had a fascination with explosives. In the beginning of
>> my HE (high explosives) career, my father ( PhD in Biology and chemistry,
>> with an ba in physics) found me trying to make dynamite. Naturally he was
>> horrified, as dynamite production is very unstable and dangerous. However,
>> instead of tanning my hide and taking away all of my stuff, he decided
>that
>> A: I would continue to experiment behind his back and B: that he would
>> rather I didn't blow myself up, so he decided to help and guide instead of
>> forbid. With his help, I blew up many things in my childhood, and still
>have
>> all my fingers.
>>
>> The point is, people do what they do. By withholding knowledge, we force
>> them to do it stupidly, without the benefit of experience. Let's face it
>the
>> trick of "riding the topload" is out there. And if people can't find
>> information on it, they may well try it in ignorance. So who's to say if
>> withholding such information is going to save lives or discourage people
>> from trying it? I doubt it will. I *knew* that making dynamite was
>> dangerous. It's just lucky my Dad got to me before I got to the tricky
>part.
>>
>> Trying to protect people by keeping them in ignorance just doesn't work.
>> Educating and informing people occasionally does. Censorship and
>withholding
>> of knowledge helps no-one. I understand peoples concern for youths and the
>> hobby, but shrouding dangerous acts in a cloak of secrets will only make
>> some more curious than ever. And those who were sensible enough will have
>> heeded the warnings, and it will be only the reckless left.... and now
>they
>> have no information to even have a *hope* of doing it and living.
>
>
>
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