• Quick note - the problem with Youtube videos not embedding on the forum appears to have been fixed, thanks to ZiprHead. If you do still see problems let me know.

Misconceptions About Electricity

marting said:
A lot is. Audible hum certainly always is. It's possible that the sensation produced against the skin is mechanical, especially at low levels before it becomes uncomfortable/painful. Not sure where the threshold is or what experiments have been done to distinguish it.
Click to expand...
I've accidentally grabbed 60Hz electricity a few times all ready. I've known I have grabbed 120V at least once but the other times I don't know what I was actually grabbing. It was the same sensation as sucking on a 9V battery. Tingly.
I would strongly recommend you read this site: http://www.eskimo.com/~billb/miscon/eleca.html.
Click to expand...
You know.... The more I read this the more I realize that electricity is pretty dam complicated.
 
Last edited:
technoextreme said:
I've accidentally grabbed 60Hz electricity a few times all ready. I've known I have grabbed 120V at least once but the other times I don't know what I was actually grabbing. It was the same sensation as sucking on a 9V battery. Tingly.

You know.... The more I read this the more I realize that electricity is pretty dam complicated.
Click to expand...

A good physics book on Electromagnetics and one on circuitry like the classic Horowitz and Hill is great for learning this stuff.
 
Ziggurat said:
The drift velocity for electrons in a circuit is quite small, as in millimeters per second.
Click to expand...

What really bakes your noodle is that this drift velocity, tiny as it is, is still enough to cause the relativistic effect that is magnetism. As you know, it manages to be significant because the electromagnetic force is so amazingly strong that even a tiny, tiny fractional difference in effective charge (basically caused by length contraction of the cloud of charge carriers) is enough to create quite strong effects.

Ziggurat said:
Drift velocity almost never matters.
Click to expand...

Given that it's the source of all magnetism, I'd say it matters quite often :).

- Dr. Trintignant
 
Misconceptions about electicity? That it plays no significant role due to charge cancellation on large scales. Plasmas allow such charge separation, and 99% of the universe is in this state. So I would say this is the one major misconception. Like the surprise when they found electrical birkeland currents directly connecting the sun all the way to the poles of the earth. They never expected that one.

http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2007/11dec_themis.htm
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/themis/auroras/northern_lights_multi.html
 
Last edited:
Zeuzzz said:
Misconceptions about electicity? That it plays no significant role due to charge cancellation on large scales. Plasmas allow such charge separation, and 99% of the universe is in this state. So I would say this is the one major misconception. Like the surprise when they found electrical birkeland currents directly connecting the sun all the way to the poles of the earth. They never expected that one.

http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2007/11dec_themis.htm
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/themis/auroras/northern_lights_multi.html
Click to expand...
Misconceptions not delusions. Every time you post makes me wish harder and harder that dark matter is actually found.
 
technoextreme said:
Misconceptions not delusions. Every time you post makes me wish harder and harder that dark matter is actually found.
Click to expand...


Productive post :clap: Really progressed the discussion, and gives me plenty to reply to :rolleyes:

Maybe next time you can actually explain the actual reasons behind your views without mere offhand irrelivant jibes. Better luck next time mate.
 
Zeuzzz said:
A shame they barely mention the non linear physics of EC's in plasma, which is an entirely different matter where many of these laws break down
Click to expand...
Shame? I find your comment unfair. For one thing, the page does mention plasma, but more importantly, the page's intention is to clarify and debunk the most common misconceptions about electricity, which are not related to plasma.
 
Last edited:
I did my apprentiship at a factory, there were many interresting teories from the workers when things broke down. Similary now on the ship-
Fortunately almost all got the basic idea of "don´t touch", and don´t try fix it yourself.

I don´t recall how slow the electrons are, but know that the electrical energy is moving practical instantanius.
And AC has root2 higher peak voltage than DC and are therefore slightly (root2) more dangerous.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top Bottom