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Re: Arcs off the fingers and getting killed in the process...
I think information hiding is pointless and actually dangerous. In my
(ahem) younger days I fooled quite a bit with high energy chemical
mixtures, where fooled is the operative word (when viewed from my more aged
perspective). Why fooled? because real information wasn't available.
Nope, No copy of the "Blasters Handbook" (chock full of safety stuff) at
the local library. No other real books were readily available. However,
there were such things as the Anarchist Cookbook (which my parents threw
away twice, and I rescued by chance) which has truly dangerous recipes (a
very poor nitroglycerin synthesis for instance). Had I had real information
on the stuff, I would have been able to figure out that the AC was "full of
it", but no.. we blindly ventured forth.
Likewise, a friend had found that Lead Azide is fairly easy to synthesize,
but, because of the lack of real information (too dangerous for students to
have), he didn't know that internal stresses in the crystals above a
certain size makes it spontaneously explode. Several dozen syntheses later,
he discovered this empirically.. So much for that finger...
Fortunately, the internet has made this sort of information (both good and
bad) available.. There is no dearth of bad advice, of course.
I think that it is incumbent on us to tell all.. If shooting sparks off
your fingertips is dangerous, say so, and more important, say WHY... rather
than just say "don't do it" (which would have served as an absolute
inspiration to me as a teenager).
Inexperienced people (and fools, etc.) will do dangerous things. Often,
though, it is out of ignorance. Honestly, had I known what an effective
explosive Ammonium Nitrate is (and the difference between propellants
(gunpowder) and explosives) , I wouldn't have been trying to set off a
pound in my garage (which fortunately didn't work, or I wouldn't be here
today).
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> From: Tesla List <tesla-at-pupman-dot-com>
> To: tesla-at-pupman-dot-com
> Subject: Arcs off the fingers and getting killed in the process...
> Date: Wednesday, February 02, 2000 2:59 AM
>
> Original Poster: Terry Fritz <twftesla-at-uswest-dot-net>
>
> Hi All,
>
> With the recent TV show about Dean Ortner shooting sparks off his fingers
> and the other stunts pros like Brent turner and Robert Krampf perform,
> there is the question of how we should handle this whole matter...
>
<<BIG SNIP.. we all read it>>
> So how do we try to convince people that Tesla coils can kill very easily
> in this new world... And how do we convince them that those old pictures
> of people arcing things of their fingers is really dangerous when it
looks
> like so much fun...
>
> Terry
>
>