Hazardous Work
Now that you have a better understanding of electronics/electricity, I will share with you a few, but very real, stories about the hazards involved:
In 1985, in the P.I., working at Clark AB, I witnessed an accident while working on a High Power Transmitter. I was the shift supervisor at that time. I was a Staff Sergeant (SSgt). I had eight people on my crew. Two of the personnel were working on installing a new pass tube, which is the main part of the transmitters. This specific pass tube carries 75,000 volts, and 30 amps. It only takes about 2 amps to kill you. This pass tube is called the "glow tube", because it has so much power going thru it, it glows. They were installing a brand new one. As you would surmise, there are very extremely strict rules when working on one of these, and one safety precaution is that it takes two people. They must wear proper gear, and be grounded at all times. One person is responsible for the other, as well as watching to make sure no shortcuts are taken. When it was installed, it had to be tested. When testing this tube, a high voltage probe must be used that is capable of reading such high voltages. It must be physically touching the tube BEFORE power is applied. In this case, as the person was holding the probe in place, he adjusted his position just when the other person turned on the power. It was a mistake not usually made. I was just walking into the room, when I saw a huge blue arc jump from the glow tube to the probe, literally grabbing it out of the techs hand and "welding" it to the body of the tube. It sent the tech flying back against the wall. I ran over and turned off the power quickly. The tech was our first priority of course. We called the paramedics to check him out. He was stunned, his hair was sticking out all over, and he had a small burn on his hand. He was lucky that was all. The high voltage probe was, as I said, literally welded to the tube. Both had to be removed and replaced. This could have easily killed him or both of them. THAT is the power of electricity!
On another occasion, at another base, I was working shift, when I heard a very loud pop! This sound, to a trained tech, only means one thing. An electrical discharge! When I ran into the room, one tech was lying on the floor out cold. His boot was smoking and he had a large hole in the big toe area. His ears were bleeding, and he was convulsing. We did first aid on him quickly, as we were trained to do under this type of circumstance, and the paramedics were already on the way. The other tech was leaning against the wall stunned, but ok. He was checked out too. The injured tech lost his big toe completely. Not even a knub was left. The electricity, following the path of least resistance, went through his body, and exited out his big toe. Other than that he came out ok. Again, he was lucky to be alive. It may sound a bit funny, but I'm sure it wasn't to him.
You may say they were careless. Maybe. You may say they were not trained very well. But what you must realize is that, when working with current and amps this high, even the slightest mistake or deviation can cause injury. There is no room for error in this type of work. But, being human, we are all prone to this type of accident., no matter how well we are trained.
If you have ever been shocked, you already have a big respect for electricity. If you have ever been "hit" by the shock of even a lawn mower spark plug (which hurts like hell), or a cars coil (which carries enough amps to kill you), then you know what I'm talking about. But alway remember one thing that is the most important if you ever want to wire up your own house, or anything that has a lot of current; Never do it alone! The one thing that all trained electronics/electrical people know is that if current grabs you, it will not let you go. It will hold you there, and there is nothing you can do about it. You cannot let go of it because it has already contracted the muscles of your hands and your body. You physically can't just let it go. That is why another peron MUST be there. And he must know what action to take to save you. If he just grabs you with his hands to pull you off, then he too, will be caught by the current. You may die together. He must use something to knock you off, or pull you loose that is not conductive. Most shops use a wooden cane for this, since wood does not conduct electricity. He can "grab" you with the cane, and jerk you loose. If you do not know all these basic rules that I have explained, then you may fall victim to the current. I hope I have given you a better understanding of the dangers in electronics and with electricity. Respect it always! It is unpredictable!
In 1985, in the P.I., working at Clark AB, I witnessed an accident while working on a High Power Transmitter. I was the shift supervisor at that time. I was a Staff Sergeant (SSgt). I had eight people on my crew. Two of the personnel were working on installing a new pass tube, which is the main part of the transmitters. This specific pass tube carries 75,000 volts, and 30 amps. It only takes about 2 amps to kill you. This pass tube is called the "glow tube", because it has so much power going thru it, it glows. They were installing a brand new one. As you would surmise, there are very extremely strict rules when working on one of these, and one safety precaution is that it takes two people. They must wear proper gear, and be grounded at all times. One person is responsible for the other, as well as watching to make sure no shortcuts are taken. When it was installed, it had to be tested. When testing this tube, a high voltage probe must be used that is capable of reading such high voltages. It must be physically touching the tube BEFORE power is applied. In this case, as the person was holding the probe in place, he adjusted his position just when the other person turned on the power. It was a mistake not usually made. I was just walking into the room, when I saw a huge blue arc jump from the glow tube to the probe, literally grabbing it out of the techs hand and "welding" it to the body of the tube. It sent the tech flying back against the wall. I ran over and turned off the power quickly. The tech was our first priority of course. We called the paramedics to check him out. He was stunned, his hair was sticking out all over, and he had a small burn on his hand. He was lucky that was all. The high voltage probe was, as I said, literally welded to the tube. Both had to be removed and replaced. This could have easily killed him or both of them. THAT is the power of electricity!
On another occasion, at another base, I was working shift, when I heard a very loud pop! This sound, to a trained tech, only means one thing. An electrical discharge! When I ran into the room, one tech was lying on the floor out cold. His boot was smoking and he had a large hole in the big toe area. His ears were bleeding, and he was convulsing. We did first aid on him quickly, as we were trained to do under this type of circumstance, and the paramedics were already on the way. The other tech was leaning against the wall stunned, but ok. He was checked out too. The injured tech lost his big toe completely. Not even a knub was left. The electricity, following the path of least resistance, went through his body, and exited out his big toe. Other than that he came out ok. Again, he was lucky to be alive. It may sound a bit funny, but I'm sure it wasn't to him.
You may say they were careless. Maybe. You may say they were not trained very well. But what you must realize is that, when working with current and amps this high, even the slightest mistake or deviation can cause injury. There is no room for error in this type of work. But, being human, we are all prone to this type of accident., no matter how well we are trained.
If you have ever been shocked, you already have a big respect for electricity. If you have ever been "hit" by the shock of even a lawn mower spark plug (which hurts like hell), or a cars coil (which carries enough amps to kill you), then you know what I'm talking about. But alway remember one thing that is the most important if you ever want to wire up your own house, or anything that has a lot of current; Never do it alone! The one thing that all trained electronics/electrical people know is that if current grabs you, it will not let you go. It will hold you there, and there is nothing you can do about it. You cannot let go of it because it has already contracted the muscles of your hands and your body. You physically can't just let it go. That is why another peron MUST be there. And he must know what action to take to save you. If he just grabs you with his hands to pull you off, then he too, will be caught by the current. You may die together. He must use something to knock you off, or pull you loose that is not conductive. Most shops use a wooden cane for this, since wood does not conduct electricity. He can "grab" you with the cane, and jerk you loose. If you do not know all these basic rules that I have explained, then you may fall victim to the current. I hope I have given you a better understanding of the dangers in electronics and with electricity. Respect it always! It is unpredictable!