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Capacitor Discharge

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screenshot of the scene

Author: Xray

Group: Default

Filesize: 165.34 kB

Date added: 2023-07-08

Rating: 5.6

Downloads: 1954

Views: 379

Comments: 12

Ratings: 2

Times favored: 0

Made with: Algodoo v2.1.0

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A capacitor is an electrical component that stores an electric charge similar to how a battery stores an electric charge. The difference is a battery discharges its stored charge over a long time period, but a capacitor can discharge its stored charge very quickly. That sudden discharge of electricity, depending on the size of the capacitor and the magnitude of the voltage stored in it, can create a very loud "BANG" and a very bright flash.

Technicians who work on electrical circuits that include capacitors understand that it's safer for them to discharge a capacitor with a heavy gauge wire or a metal tool such as a screwdriver before touching it with their hands. For a very high voltage capacitor, as depicted in this scene, the tool doesn't need to make contact with the terminals because the high voltage will jump a distance. That's what makes high voltage circuits especially dangerous.

Move the screwdriver across the electrical terminals to discharge the capacitor. You will see that the spark will occur without even touching the metal tips of both terminals.

Update: Improved contact area.
Last edited at 2023/07/18 20:13:43 by Xray
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Nice work. You could add a charging circuit and a voltmeter (or scope) and then make the spark dependent on voltage and distance. The spark size could also be dependent on voltage.

As a side note (you know this but others may not), capacitors sometimes don't look like capacitors such as the case of CRT tubes and Helium Neon lasers.
cool!!
Carwrecker9 -- Thanks!

s_noonan -- Thanks! And good ideas. I will seriously consider them.

BTW - Back in the Stone Age when I worked for a TV repair shop during high school, I found out the hard way that a CRT can store high voltage. It wasn't lethal but it taught me a valuable and painful lesson!

BTW2 - Did you take a close look at the screwdriver?
Last edited at 2023/07/09 20:15:55 by Xray
Q: Did you take a close look at the screwdriver?
A: Ha! Not until just now. I completely missed that the first time around. You would think that, as somebody who nit picks, I would have picked up on that right away.
I believe you missed it because it looks like a "Stanley" screwdriver, and everyone who uses tools knows what a Stanley screwdriver looks like, and so your brain just passed right over it! :lol:
Last edited at 2023/07/11 23:34:43 by Xray
BTW - I'm nit picky too. It's the engineer in both of us that's never satisfied with someone else's design. We think we can always make it better. :angel:
This shows up as the inventor's zippo lighter scene haha.
ezpz(fib)5 -- Are you sure? That zippo lighter scene is one of my favorites, and maybe that is what you are seeing when you click on my username. :s
When I click show scene on algobox, it goes to the wrong scene.
Where do you see "Show Scene" on Algobox?
save button, it doesn't really matter though, I just thought it was interesting.
Save button?:s Where do you see a save button? I cannot find either of those buttons you mentioned.