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What NOT TO DO!!!!! — Parallax Forums

What NOT TO DO!!!!!

bomberbomber Posts: 297
edited 2011-07-11 12:11 in General Discussion
Since today is my birthday, I decided to do something that SHOULD NOT BE DONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! What is it, you ask? Well, I like to put it as "overloading an electronic component to the point of catostrophic failure". What I mean is give a resistor rated for 1/8 watt 120VAC and overload it. I have several safety precautions including a fire extinguisher, detonation chamber, power strip, GFCI (Grounded Fault Circuit Interrupter), lab coat, safety glasses, gloves and a hose for flooding the detonation chamber. The black box with the "WARNING: RISK OF ELECTRIC SHOCK" sticker on it has the contactor mentioned on this thread. So that is the basic story of what I was doing at 6:30 AM on my birthday.
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Comments

  • bomberbomber Posts: 297
    edited 2011-07-09 08:14
    (Due to the limit of attatched files, Here is the final file).

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  • bill190bill190 Posts: 769
    edited 2011-07-09 08:48
    You forgot a picture...
    (Eye protection / Safety glasses)
    glasses%20side%20shield.jpg


    And what ohms is the resistor?
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  • bomberbomber Posts: 297
    edited 2011-07-09 08:55
    The resistor is a 10K ohm 1/8 watt.
  • bomberbomber Posts: 297
    edited 2011-07-09 08:56
    I forgot to mention that at one point (when I was destroying a diode) I used a stepdown transformer to lower the voltage.
  • Mike GreenMike Green Posts: 23,101
    edited 2011-07-09 09:41
    Use Ohm's Law to figure out how much voltage you'd have to apply to this resistor to exceed the power rating. I think we're talking about roughly 1 Watt here. Is it a carbon film resistor or a bulk carbon resistor? That'll affect the failure mode.
  • localrogerlocalroger Posts: 3,452
    edited 2011-07-09 13:10
    Additional fun things to fry:

    1. Criscross a few lengths of solder to make a little ribbon and plug it into an UNPOWERED electrical outlet, the way you tried to do with a paperclip when you were three years old. Then, from a remote location, apply power to the outlet.

    2. Instead of the solder, plug an electrolytic capacitor into the outlet, the lower the voltage rating the better.

    3. If you work in a place with a lot of switched outlet strips, leave little surprises for your coworkers plugged into the far end of a strip that is off that they will need on.

    Not that I would ever do any of these things, mind you. At least *cough* not for the last 20 years or so *cough*
  • Peter KG6LSEPeter KG6LSE Posts: 1,383
    edited 2011-07-09 13:50
    I call shenanigans Localroger .

    Its OK bomber . My Birthday was last week on the 5th so I had some fun with some............... yea . and a few caps too a 25 Cap salute for me .


    try a pickle on a line cord . BZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ
  • ercoerco Posts: 20,261
    edited 2011-07-09 14:46
    Hopefully, you'll document the ambulance trip to the hospital as well as you did the "pre-event" setup...

    Happy Birthday, bomber!
  • LoopyBytelooseLoopyByteloose Posts: 12,537
    edited 2011-07-10 03:51
    Anyone can make a short circuit.
    But many less understand how to avoid making a short circuit.
    And many less survive unharmed their creations.

    Rather than starting with Ohm's law, eduction about electricity should demonstrate Watt's "LAW" and what harm certain amounts of power can do.

    1 watt might make a pop.
    10 watts can burn one's skin
    25 watts can start a fire that burns down the house.
    and so on.

    We all discover how to be careful with power in a rather after the fact fashion. That's why it helps to start kids with lower power and batteries.

    But even then, if you find it handy to strip insulation with your teeth, a day of reckoning might come when you forgot to disconnect the power beforehand. Besides, the wire is unsanitary and you really wear down the enamel on your teeth.

    As plumbers say, "If you are plumber, don't bite your nails."

    As IBM says." Think, think, think..."
  • piguy101piguy101 Posts: 248
    edited 2011-07-10 07:06
    My favorite component to let the smoke out of is infrared LEDs. Look, You can see it glow!
  • kwinnkwinn Posts: 8,697
    edited 2011-07-10 09:58
    You forgot the 120V bed of nails instant hot dog cooker. If you do make one be sure to have a cover that actuates a switch to turn power off when it is open. Putting a hot dog in or taking one out with the power on can give you a perm.
  • $WMc%$WMc% Posts: 1,884
    edited 2011-07-10 11:39
    Why are you blowing up perfectly good parts again?
  • kwinnkwinn Posts: 8,697
    edited 2011-07-10 12:46
    $WMc% wrote: »
    Why are you blowing up perfectly good parts again?

    Not to worry, most folks outgrow it sooner or later.
  • $WMc%$WMc% Posts: 1,884
    edited 2011-07-10 16:27
    I haven't seen bomber add any new comments, Maybe this is one of those self correcting projects and bomber has no fingers left to post with!
    '
    I love self correcting projects!!!
  • piguy101piguy101 Posts: 248
    edited 2011-07-10 16:46
    I also enjoy getting a HUGE cap and shorting it in steel wool. Hundreds of amperes in a faction of a second. It is much better than a lame PP3 (9-Volt) with steel wool.
  • $WMc%$WMc% Posts: 1,884
    edited 2011-07-10 17:21
    Above is yet another example!
  • piguy101piguy101 Posts: 248
    edited 2011-07-10 17:42
    I have MANY FUN tricks to let the smoke out of anything. Have you ever tried starting your computer with all the heat sinks taken off?
  • ercoerco Posts: 20,261
    edited 2011-07-10 18:33
    Just once...! :)
  • piguy101piguy101 Posts: 248
    edited 2011-07-10 18:56
    I advise all to go on YouTube and see someone do that to their computer CPU. It only takes a matter of seconds before smokes out of the CPU, it is amazing how much computers rely on heat sinks.
  • bomberbomber Posts: 297
    edited 2011-07-10 19:36
    $WMc% wrote: »
    I haven't seen bomber add any new comments

    I am sorry about not posting for a while (Please note: ALL OF MY BODY PARTS ARE INTACT AND UNHURT).
    Why are you blowing up perfectly good parts again?
    These parts were desoldered from old PCB (from dismanteled products).
  • bomberbomber Posts: 297
    edited 2011-07-10 19:39
    piguy101 wrote: »
    I also enjoy getting a HUGE cap and shorting it in steel wool. Hundreds of amperes in a faction of a second. It is much better than a lame PP3 (9-Volt) with steel wool.

    I once had to discharge a camera's flash capacitor. When I shorted it, there was a huge spark, a loud bang, and a scared looking me a few feet farther away from the cap before the cap was discharged.
  • bomberbomber Posts: 297
    edited 2011-07-10 19:45
    kwinn wrote: »
    120V bed of nails instant hot dog cooker

    Check out this progect. Please note: You will have to scroll up to the top of the page. The link puts you somewhere in the middle of the page (down by the comments)
    .
  • kwinnkwinn Posts: 8,697
    edited 2011-07-10 21:57
    $WMc% wrote: »
    I haven't seen bomber add any new comments, Maybe this is one of those self correcting projects and bomber has no fingers left to post with!
    '
    I love self correcting projects!!!

    You`re as bad as I am with my `chlorine for the gene pool` comments. Keep up the good work.
  • piguy101piguy101 Posts: 248
    edited 2011-07-11 10:35
    Another fun trick (Unfortunately no no broken parts here) is to do electrolysis of water; this releases hydrogen and oxygen, then light a match. Hydrogen fire fueled by oxygen = cool. Or you could do electrolysis of salt water and release the chlorine, that is a good way to kill someone.
  • bomberbomber Posts: 297
    edited 2011-07-11 10:56
    piguy101 wrote: »
    electrolysis of salt water
    I did this once, and It seemed to de-electroplate a gold plated piece of metal connected to the cathode.
  • piguy101piguy101 Posts: 248
    edited 2011-07-11 12:11
    That happened to my cathode when I did that also. It turned a silver colored metal into an goldish color.
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