voltage rule

hypertown@lemmy.world to 196@lemmy.blahaj.zone – 751 points –
48

Electricity does not take the path of least resistance. It takes every path available, inversely proportional to that paths resistance.

When the voltage gets high enough, it will literally start ripping molecules apart in order to make its own path.

Also, nice meme, nerd.

It takes every path available, and with high enough voltage, more paths become available

That's just a new game plus for electricity

AC + high voltage must be nightmare mode

I'm not an electrician enough to say, but if I remember it right, AC + high voltage is what Tesla generators use to generate all that fancy air zaps. That's more high frequency than the consumer grade AC, and high frequency makes it somewhat safe for living things because electricity doesn't flow deep into the body in that case.

Yep! Once you start getting into waves & fields all bets are off. High frequency electromagnetic radiation gets more and more wild if you back it up with enough power

Could be as safe as a radio transmission or as deadly as a submarine’s sonar pulse. All depends on the frequency and the power behind it (and where you direct it)

High voltage be like: "Fuck you. I'm gonna make my own wire, with blackjack and hookers (and ionization)!"

High frequency signals be like: wires? Where we are going we don't need wires!

You'll have that when your voltage overcomes the resistance of the air

Sometimes it happens even below the arc breakdown voltage via air... Air molecules are slightly less dense along the surface of a smooth flat surface due to molecular 'bounce', so electrons creep along the lower density of a surface.

Hence, creepage on a PCB.

High frequency signals be like: conductors? Where we are going we don't need conductors!

What's the center of this copper wire even for, anyway? I'm going around the edges.

True that. I was amazed how many hundreds of amps I could dump into an aluminum foil antenna at high frequency.

Just aluminum foil around PVC is practically as good as solid aluminum pipe.

Danger! High Voltage

^SCNR^ and probably NSFW

So... something weird happened with my phone, and I thought I clicked a link for electricity solving a maze and got this instead and it was... a uniquely confusing experience.

But also weirdly nostalgic for back when confusing things happened on the internet all the time so... thanks?

You are welcome. We all need some more of that old internet.

How did I not know this song had a music video

I don't know.

Do you know the music video to the song where he wants to go to the gay bar with you? :D

I only know the song... I see I was missing out.

Oh, you most definitely were missing out. :D

Silicon isn't a conductor, it's a semiconductor. Also conductivity is dependent on temperature, hot stuff usually conducts easier, though some things conduct easier when they are colder. Even at the low voltage it's more complicated than "Conductors" and "Insulators" we learn in those ultra basic electronics guides online (or in school if you're lucky).

Hot stuff always conducts. As in plasma.

Except superconductors often conduct better when they are cold (unfortunately, would be nice if a room temperature one was found but probably isn't going to happen).

Thank you for this powerful visual. I've always had trouble understanding electrical concepts, but this is beginning to open my eyes now.

Would it look for a wire or more so “where is the fucking ground”?

If electricity is a highway, current is the number of cars at any given time, voltage is how fast they are going, and high voltage are the driving sequences from The Transporter / Fast & Furious movies.

  • High voltage: is this earth?
  • me: heart stops when neurons get fried