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Re: streamer hit



Hi all,

> Hi Paul, if you got "a painful surprise" at low power I wouldn't try
> playing with those sparks at full power! There is either a direct path
> through your coil back to the A.C.
> power distribution lines and therefor to ground as well or you have some
> strong low frequency components superimposed on your coils High frequency
> output. It is this low frequency component that will give you a shock and
> or kill you. With pure R.F. you would only get R.F. burns if the spark
> hit you directly, if you hold a conductor and allow the spark to hit the
> conductor you will feel nothing if there is only R.F.! I really DON'T

Some time ago I played around with a small (70W) coil. Holding a piece
of copper pipe im my hand I could draw a spark from the TC without 
feeling anything. When I aproached my bare hand to the coil, I felt a 
tickling sensation, then I got hit by a streamer, and it was quite
painful! 
I didn't get burned or something, I was just an "electrical" pain. 
An explanation could be that nerves/muscles don't respond to the high 
frequency unless the current is very high. If you hold a piece of metal
in your hand, the current is distributed over your skin, but if you get
hit by a spark, the the current enters the skin through a very small 
area and it hurts. Any comments?

So long,
 Stefan