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Re: VanderGraaff safety (fwd)

. . .
OK, colleagues, what are your thoughts on this demo? Is it too dangerous?
Is
there a better way to let students actually feel an electric shock?
poj

A more benign method might be to use readily available piezo-electric
devices, which deliver some momentary tens of thousands of Volts upon the
push of a spring loaded plunger button. Do NOT buy the versions of this
device advertised on TV for therapeutic purposes - they are poorly made and
grossly over priced ( anywhere from $35 to over $85). Go to a hardware
store and buy a replacement for the piezo-electric igniters used on backyard
propane fueled barbecues (about $5.00). I have one labeled "Channel
Products" (bought at Walmart) which is much more rugged and delivers a
significantly higher jolt than the therapeutic versions which I have seen.
It is easy to attach two wires to this device and deliver the voltage
between specified locations, at the push of a button.

Bob Sciamanda
Physics, Edinboro Univ of PA (ret)
trebor@velocity.net
http://www.velocity.net/~trebor