electricity

Watch A Taser Do Absolutely Nothing To A Candle

I don’t know why I enjoy this quick little video so much but I’ve watched it over and over. It’s probably because anything involving a taser is always hilarious unless you’re the person the taser wants to involve.


Universally Accessible Energy Will Be Worth The Cost

Millions of people live without access to electricity or modern fuel for cooking and heating, but the problem can seem too daunting to tackle. How much would it cost to bring rural communities or countries with limited infrastructure onto the grid?


I’m Not Sure I Trust This Guy With An 80,000-Volt Thor Hammer

We support authentic cosplay as much as the next superhero-loving blog, but this re-creation of Thor’s Mjolnir hammer that’s capable of generating 80,000 arcing volts is just straight up scary. Instead of mystical powers, the hammer’s lightning is generated by a tiny Tesla coil inside.


Bitcoin Mining Has An Absurd Environmental Impact

Ah digital currency. It’s all in our collective hive-mind right? Coming and going in bits and bytes. Nothing to see here. So why is a hacking process called “Bitcoin mining” using $US150,000 worth of electricity a day? This had better be good.


Here’s A Drone Flying Between Two Tesla Coils

Have you ever wondered what would happen if you sent a quadrotor enclosed in a metal cage soaring between two Tesla coils? Of course you have. Here lies your answer in all its highly dangerous, lightning-spewing, nightmare-inducing glory.


Why People Should Just Stay Away From Electric Fences

Are these kids Aussie or Kiwi? There’s this thing called being smart that explains how you can avoid getting shocked by an electrical fence by avoiding them altogether. There’s also this thing called being human and tip toeing the line of dumb behaviour which causes people to play around with electric fences… and predictably get shocked and knocked down. You can guess which one this is.


Which Hurts More, AC Or DC Electricity?

If you manage to get yourself electrocuted, you probably won’t care too much what type of electricity is pumping through your body. This video takes a playful look at whether AC or DC current will hurt more when that day comes.


Watch 15,000 Volts Of Raw Power Burn Lightning Strikes Into Wood

When lightning flashes across the sky, you only get a chance to glimpse its fractal form for a split second. But when you send 15,000 volts coursing through plywood, you get a much better look at how it grows. Melanie Hoff, a student at the Pratt Institute in New York City did just that, and the result is a timelapse where you can see the patterns slowly grow out and smolder, like lightning made from molasses.


Wireless Power Monitor Snitches To Your Smartphone About Your Energy Waste

You’re probably blissfully ignorant about how much power your electronics are sucking. But once you start having to pay a monthly electricity bill, that soon changes. So to easily keep tabs on how power hungry your toys are, slap one of these wireless Smart Plugs on your outlet and keep track of how much juice they’re wasting right from your smartphone.


Smartphone Add-On Shocks Muscles For Realistic Force Feedback

When delivered through a vibrating motor in a controller or smartphone, force feedback isn’t particularly realistic. So researchers at Germany’s Hasso Plattner Institute have developed a new system for smartphones that uses electrical muscle stimulation to physically move the player’s hands and forearms in response to the action happening on screen.


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