David,
> There's an ebay auction for a 100 kV transformer from an x-ray set.
> "Dangerous but great fun and ideal for lots of interesting experiments."
That's right.
> I've suggested he ads a note that there may be other dangers other than
> electrocution.
I think that nowadays there are far too many notes around telling people
not to do this, not to do that, not to do something at home, and so on.
I mean, if somebody buys that transformer, powers it up and connects
himself to it, that's his own fault!
I'm not aware of car salespeople having to warn people that it is
dangerous to drive at 80 mph into a concrete wall, or the like. If you
buy a car, or a plane, a wire cutter, or anything, you are supposed to
know how to handle it, or it's your responsibility to learn. Same thing
applies to high voltage transformers, in my humble opinion.
At age 14 I played with a Jacob's Ladder fed by a 44kV, 5kVA
transformer. It was particularly attractive to separate the electrodes
so that it wouldn't ignite on its own, and then light it with a match
and see the arc climb. I got my fingers to a few centimeters of the
electrodes. Before doing that, and being the good boy I was, I asked the
physics teacher at school how far those 44kV could arc, worst case. I
didn't need a warning note, because it was OBVIOUS that high voltage
could be dangerous.
Is it that today we have to spell out all obvious risks, so that even
the most stupid people will be protected from accidents? I prefer the
relative freedom of my youth! The right to have an occasional accident,
and learn to be careful without always having others tell us what not to do.
Times seem to have changed. So, when any of you put an amp on eBay, be
sure to warn buyers that dropping it on their feet can flatten them,
that lifting it while bending over can injure their backs, that touching
the antenna while transmitting can burn them, and a loooooooooong list
of other warnings! Or better, trust buyers to know what they are doing.
After all, you simply cannot warn people about ALL possible risks.
Keep in mind that life itself is extremely dangerous: It always has a
fatal outcome.
Manfred.
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