Fear of electricity

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Anyone else out there scared of electricity? I mean like, afraid to plug stuff in or turn it on because you're afraid it's going to breathe fire at you? Just wanted to know if I'm the only one...

No, but I am scared of car batteries. A boy I went to school was shocked by one...he was never the same. They have freaked me out ever since.

Yes, but in my case that fear has a specific root...just before I turned two, I had a lamp in my room that had no light bulb in it. Trying to make the light come on, I dropped a battery in the socket where the light bulb would go and and turned the lamp on. The lamp blew up with a shower of blue sparks and I've been a little jumpy about electricity ever since. It's kind of funny when I think about it - I guess I knew that batteries made my toys work, so why not the lamp?

I have a healthy respect for it, I did install 2 wall outlets and 15 amp breaker on friday, no shocks or fires, had to run a bunch of cabling though the ceiling so took the opportunity to add the extra outlets, for my tv and computer, hated tripping over the extension cords. Its good to be cautious around electricity, but learning how the circuits work take alot of the fear away, because it was the first time doing an install

If you don't let it get out of hand a respect for electricity is a good thing. It might be a good idea to find therapy for the level of fear you mentioned. But getting shocked is no fun, even if it's 120 volts, that's all I've been shocked with but my friends who have been zapped by 277 or 480 say those are extremely painful.

I'm terrified of electricity but I have good reason, about 6 years ago my cousin in Memphis Tenn. told her son not to use the Microwave something was wrong with it and she unplugged it. Well she laid down for a nap and her 10 year old son plugged it in and when he turned it on it shocked and killed him. He was trying to "nuke" some popcorn.
But at Griffith Observatory in L.A. ( which also had a kick-a-- Pink Floyd Laser show) me and my daughter got to have half a million volts travel along the outside of our skin, it was VERY cool, but that was before my little cousin dies. Now it freaks me out a little.

I'm the opposite - I've always loved electricity.

Yet as velodog already said, getting shocked does hurt. And the sensation is quite unique.

Minor shocks don't bother me, but once, when I was a kid, I grabbed onto a thick electric fence that was used to contain a large and boisterous stallion (dare at camp). I never found out what the voltage was. I just remember feeling my whole body stiffly and painfully convulsing and then finding myself lying on the ground about a yard (meter) back from the fence.

I'm glad I had that experience because there is really no other sensation like it, but I would not repeat it voluntarily.

I also have a fascination with the idea of getting struck be lightning, and the effects that lightning-strike victims report. But I certainly do NOT want to experience it myself.

Simply watching lightning and visually analyzing electrical systems is enough for me these days.

Trained electricians are injured and killed every year dealing with electricity and that's why untrained laymen should not mess with it. With Spuds background I don't view him as a rookie since there is likely some physics in his training. That's awful about your cousins child Reika, for future reference plugs should be cut off of known defective electrical devices and they should be disposed of or taken for repair immediately. That is something your cousin could not be reasonably expected to know and that's too bad.

My first experience with electricity was when I took an electrical cord for some appliance and put it in my mouth, I was about 18 months old, burnt a small hole in my cheek, the next time when I was 4 or 5 I took a tv apart while watching it, I had the main board, tuner and picture tube all neatly arranged on the floor, without anything shorting out, I never knew how dangerous it was. the last time was when I was fixing a coffee vending machine, and was checking connections on the water heater, and saw a red wire that looked funny, it was bare copper with the insulation burnt off, got a 240 v shock that gave me a bad burn, and knocked me on my ass for a few minutes, I think thats why I have a healthy respect for electricity.

You got to love electric fences, heres my little sister about to climb over this one last summer, notice the white wire on the fence.

I guess I am WIERD here! I actually tested some circuits by seeing if I would get shocked. I have been shocked by 120v household current, about 3 times, ONCE on acident because I slipped on a test. I have been shocked by a much higher voltage, but lower current, on inductors. Anyway, I don't think I have tried to do that since about 10yo. I now have a nice meter to check such things. When I work on house wiring, I flip the appropriate circuitbreaker. With cars, I TRY to ground things properly.

I NEVER did the battery trick. That could have been more dangerous than you would believe. They could concievably have caused a short, sparked and started a fire AND exploded and sprayed acid all over. You were LUCKY!

As for the microwave, there should have been a case against the manufacturer.

But I DID always make sure the circuit was closed EARLY! If you don't complete the circuit created on your hands, for example, and sit on something that is grounded, it can take THAT path, and kill you. The inductors were USUALLY such that it was just inductive kickback. It can feel WORSE than a normal shock, but is far less likely to kill.

Of course, the tesla coil, like you probably saw at the griffith observatory, has a big inductor in it, but you basically feel the generated field. It isn't so direct. His dream was to provide SO MUCH power at such a HIGH frequency that you could basically tap it ANYWHERE. Almost like a remote control in reverse. When you press ON on a radio remote control, it sends LOW POWER EM radiation to cause the local switch on the remote device to turn on. Tesla's dream was to have a device you could turn on that sends HIGH POWER EM radiation to power the remote devices.

Even the "van de Graaff Generator" is somewhat similar to the tesla coil. Of course IT is lower tech and lower power.

No. I've been zapped once when younger; I forgot that the light switch panel wasn't affixed to the wall, and without looking, I went to turn the light on, but I missed. I touched the two thick wires behind such. It wasn't anything special; it kinda felt like hitting your hand with a hammer.

Anyone know what level of energy I felt?

(It's beside the point that I fear nothing.)

Fear it!
I have been electrocuted by a hairdryer and an electric fence it hurts like a mother