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Re: pain from coil strikes (fwd)



---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Mon, 06 Aug 2007 15:43:29 -0700
From: Ed Phillips <evp@xxxxxxxxxxx>
To: Tesla list <tesla@xxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: Re: pain from coil strikes (fwd)

Moderator's note: 

Drawing sparks to one's body is risky at best.  While some contend that
the skin effect prevents penetration of the electricity, this effect is
for homogeneous bodies, of which the human body is not.  Nerves, blood
vessels, bones, and muscles all have different conductivites.

The nervous system can't detect frequencies as high as those found in
tesla coils so you can't feel what damage may be occurring.

Chip"

	"Skin effect" has nothing to do with human skin or human bodies of course as has been noted often.  I have never seen a discussion of whether currents which can't be felt can cause damage to tissue in the same way that microwave heating can not necessarily be noted.  To me the main danger, other than the once-in-a-lifetime one of "getting across the primary transformer", is nasty RF burns.  Even a few watts is plenty to give one a nasty burn and if the power dissipated at the end of a streamer is 10 watts or more nasty burns will certainly occur.  Holding a metal object in the hand and taking streamers to it will probably always prevent RF burns but is still a dumb idea.  I think most of us have noticed getting very significant shocks when taking a discharge through a screwdriver and I don't know if they are dangerous or not but using a lead to ground instead of ones body sure seems a simple precaution.

Ed