| Just go Play |
01.16.2008 02:52 PM |
Quote:
Originally Posted by BrianG
(Post 141535)
:lol: Convert 12v to 120v, then 120v to 12v, then convert 12v to whatever the charger needs. Wow, talk about conversion losses! :smile:
Actually DC is just as dangerous as AC, maybe more so. AC actually goes to 0v twice every cycle, DC is always at whatever voltage. Whenever I use the "unsafe method" of testing for a live wire (touching it), I use the back of my fingers to prevent my hand from reflexively grabbing the wire and not being able to let go.
Incidentally, it's really the human body's own reaction to being shocked that kills you. It takes 15mA (0.015A) to kill, but that is dependant on voltage and resistance. The dry skin of a human body has somewhere around 5-20 MOhms of resistance. It would take 75,000v to generate enough current to kill at 5 MOhms! However, when shocked, you start to perspire, your heart beats more rapidly, etc. All this continually lowers your resistance until its low enough to allow whatever voltage to generate the lethal current required. All this happens in a very brief amount of time. If the voltage is too low (around 40v for most - 50v for me), you can't even feel it so your body won't ever react to it. The higher it is, the faster this happens. But I digress...
Yeah, clip off as much extra as you can while leaving enough wire to reach wherever you need. You'll see that more voltage actually get to the charger. Also, the wire may look big because they use thick insulation. Look at the actual wire when you clip it...
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Good stuff Brian! It made me think of my auto shop teacher back in high school who also educated us on the effects of electricity on the human body.
He had an abnormally high body resistance that allowed him to do rather crazy stunts like grabbing live circuits (under load) 110, 220, spark plug wires, coil wires, and the list goes on. In order to convince his students to "experience the power of electricity" 10 or so of us would join hands with the 2 on the ands each holding one wire to complete a circuit. While doing such things would likely cause law suits I found it very educational at the time.
Ok back to our regularly scheduled topic now... |
