PopularMechanics082017

AUGUST 2017 _ http://www.popularmechanics.co.za 47

BEING ELECTROCUTED BY ART

Using a 2 000-volt transformer to etch wood will kill you.

M

y brother, Mickey, and I always like to remind

each other that there are old pyros and bold

pyros, but few old bold pyros. Even so, I’ve

tested thermite, painted the floors with contact

explosive and even created a mushroom cloud of fire over

a lake with stove fuel. None of that has terrified me as

much as making Lichtenberg figures. Of all the stupid

things people do on YouTube, these wood carvings are

among the stupidest. They’re made by hooking micro-

wave transformers, which emit more than 2 000 volts at

high current, to pieces of wood with electrodes. You’re

basically carving with lightning, and it will very easily kill

you. (Seriously. Don’t do it. Touching any part of the system

could connect the circuit through you. Then you’re dead.)

After watching other people’s videos since the trend popped

up a few years ago, Mickey and I ignored common sense

and decided to try it, too.

Since wood is a poor conductor, it first needs to be

soaked in water and baking soda. After tacking small nails

at each end of the planks to attach the electrodes, we get

far, far away. For safety, before we plug in the transformer,

we carefully make sure that we are not near anything. Not

the table, the transformer, the wood, the wires, anything.

Only then do we give it power. After a couple of seconds,

the burning begins, causing spectacular sparking and open

flame, leaving branch-like char across the treated wood.

Mickey says the art is in the evaporation. As the solution

dries up, he posits, resistance increases and the burn has

to move elsewhere. The fractal meandering pattern results

from the electricity’s search for the path of least resistance.

After powering down the transformer, we scrub off the ash

and dark residue to leave a gorgeous – but deadly – work

of art. – Dan Dubno

is up to date. A 1998 study

found that fewer than one in

ten people shot in the heart

will survive. Only one in

twenty people shot in the

head each year live. Bullet

wounds to most of the rest

of your body – 80 per cent of

it – are typically non-fatal.

EVEN IF YOU DON’T DIE, IT’S NOT

GOING TO FEEL GOOD.

LIGHTNING

Being struck by lightning

will kill you.

According to the US National

Weather Service, over the

30-year period from 1986 to

2015, only 10 per cent of the

people struck by lightning in

that country died. That’s an

average of 48 lightning fatal-

ities each year. If you’re stuck

outside during a storm, crouch

low to the ground with your

heels touching and your head

between your knees. You want

to become as small a target

as possible.

ONLY SLIGHTLY HIGHER THAN BEING

SENT BACK IN TIME IN A DELOREAN.

UNAPPROVED PETROL

CONTAINERS

A container without the proper

features may not prevent static

electricity from causing a spark.

Fuel containers should have

flash-arresting screens, spring-

closing lids, and a spout cover

to prevent spillage. Your old

milk jug has none of those

things. It also has little chance

of creating a spark. Between

2010 and 2016, the Petroleum

Equipment Institute, which

tracks such things, had zero

reported incidents of fires

caused by static-electric

discharge.

TINY.

PLUGGING IN AN APPLIANCE

WHILE YOUR HANDS ARE WET

Moisture will transfer the

current from the plug to you.

Since most water contains

impurities and conducts

electricity extremely well,

and electric currents tend to

flow where there is the least

resistance, they will usually

go through that water – and

into you – if the opportunity

presents itself. Plus, wet skin

has a lower resistance than

dry skin. You could get a fatal

shock to your heart.

DRY OR DIE.

THE HOSPITAL

Being in the hospital exposes

you to more – and more

virulent – bacteria.

SHOULD YOU BE

WORRIED?

A checklist of warning

signs for any situation.

• Nearby signage contains
  the words “High Voltage”


• More than five friends are
  encouraging you to do it


• Only one friend is encour-
  aging you, but he’s been
  drinking


• People pull out their
  cellphone cameras


• A Mr Yuk sticker is affixed
  to the container of whatever
  it is you’re about to drink


• The bones of animals or
  people are visible within
  30 metres of your position


• A witch holding an apple
  laughs maniacally when
  you walk by

Being in the hospital does

increase your risk of catching

something, says Dr Amesh

Adalja at the Infectious

Diseases Society of America.

But micro-organisms are every-

where, he says, and the increas-

ed risk of visiting noncontag-

ious patients is negligible. “The

world teems with bacteria,”

Adalja says. “There’s really no

way to avoid them.” Patients,

however, should be cautious.

There were an estimated

722 000 healthcare-associated

infections in US hospitals in

2011 (the most recent data),

resulting in an estimated

75 000 deaths.

ENCOURAGE FRIENDS TO

USE THOSE CONVENIENT

HAND-SANITISING STATIONS.

MICROWAVE OVENS

Microwaves emit radiation

that can cause cancer.

There are two types of radia-

tion. Ionising radiation, like

that emitted after a nuclear

explosion, displaces electrons

and can affect the actual chem-

istry and function of an ion.

That’s the bad stuff. If it inter-

acts with our DNA, says