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Re: Shockers...



I built something similar from a science kit as a kid. It was simply
a step up transformer, a battery, and a switch. The secondary of the
transformer was connected to foil on either side, the battery was
connected to the primary and the switch was on the bottom so that when
you picked up the thing, the switch opened and interrupted the circuit.
It gave a nice little jolt (although the battery would run down fairly
fast just leaving it sit).

At 11:19 PM 2/12/97 EST, you wrote:
Greetings everyone! A student asked me a question that I wasn't
sure of, so I thought I'd pose the question to the rest of you. One of
my students was asking about a practical joke device that looks like a
regular book, but when you open it, it gives the holder a jolt.
I'm not sure what he's talking about (yes, I live a sheltered
life), but my guess is that it is either a "joy-buzzer" device which
doesn't really shock but vibrates or something that has a capacitor in
it.
Does anyone know how these books work? If it is a capacitor,
isn't it dangerous to use such a device? I know the capacitors in tvs
and some old radios have enough "juice" in them to melt a screwdriver
when placed over the terminals...yes, I know from experience when I was a
kid. :-) What type of capacitor is being used?
Hmmm...maybe I should attach a few of these to the magazines I
see kids hiding behind their textbooks, when they should be studying.
:->

Dwight



Stanley J. McCaslin Inet: mccaslin@bobcat.peru.edu
Assistant Professor, Computer Science Phone:402/872-2208
Peru State College, Peru, NE 68421 Home: 402/872-7595