home *** CD-ROM | disk | FTP | other *** search
- Newsgroups: sci.electronics
- Path: sparky!uunet!wupost!darwin.sura.net!jvnc.net!adx.adelphi.edu!auvax1.adelphi.edu!schmidt
- From: schmidt@auvax1.adelphi.edu
- Subject: Re: SHOCKING EXPERIENCES
- Message-ID: <1992Jul27.005128.1@auvax1.adelphi.edu>
- Lines: 44
- Sender: news@adx.adelphi.edu (USENET News System)
- Nntp-Posting-Host: auvax1
- Organization: Adelphi University, Garden City NY
- Date: Mon, 27 Jul 1992 05:51:28 GMT
-
- Some years ago, about 20, I think, someone in the experimental psych lab here,
- having tired at shocking rats ran an experiment with humans.
-
- They wanted to determine people's sensitivity to electric shock. The equipment
- used was crude and simple, a Variac with a voltmeter hooked up to the output,
- and two test leads. The "victim" (not their term :-) ) held the two leads, one
- in each hand, as the experimenter slowly turned up the Variac. You were
- supposed to tell them 1) when you first felt the shock, and 2) when it became
- "uncomfortable". I agreed to be a "subject" (their term) I recall that I
- could just feel 50v, and that "uncomfortable" turned out to be just about 110v!
- but then, I've been hit a few times before. There was a wide range I'm told.
- One "subject" felt 12v. No ones heart stopped, so I guess they were lucky.
-
- I'm sure a foolish experiment like this would never pass all the reviews that
- human experiments are supposed to get these days.
-
- My worst shock came from the secondary "plate" winding of an old radio plate
- transformer also, when I was in high school. I'll never forget, I had a big
- problem letting go, it seemed forever, but I'm still here, I guess. I felt it
- for weeks afterwards in my chest and arm muscles. Another time I hit the back
- end of a fuseholder in a piece of gear when I didn't expect it and yanked my
- arm back so hard I dislocated my shoulder. That was just 110, but when it gets
- you by surprise!!! Actually I am almost as concerned with getting burned by
- shorting out 110 as I am with getting zapped. I could tell you about some
- pretty serious accidents I've seen the after effects of where electricians
- accidentally shorted out high current feeders. Many have been badly hurt by
- the flash, not by the shock.
-
- Anyone who survives contact with high voltage power "primary" wiring is very
- lucky. If you've ever seen 13KV primary (actually 7600v to ground) that's
- laying in the street, you know what I mean. We once had a contractor's
- electrician here who pulled the 13KV primary fuses on a transformer here open
- with his bare hands, while standing on the concrete pad, next to it. He was
- lucky, the holders were dry and clean, but he s>*# in his pants when he opened
- the third fuse and the arc from the exciting current carried about two inches
- before breaking. This is a true story!
-
- --
- ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
- John H. Schmidt, P.E. |Internet: schmidt@auvax1.adelphi.edu
- Technical Director, WBAU |Phone--Days (212)456-4218
- Adelphi University | Evenings (516)877-6400
- Garden City, New York 11530 |Fax-------------(212)456-2424
- ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
-