Every year divisible by four with remainder one, adventurous geeks hold an outdoor festival in the Netherlands. This year, about 6000 people are expected to attend a long weekend.
Among them will be a group of experimenters who will be testing a 42 volt direct current grid. Specifically, a cluster of tents within the festival will receive approximately 50 × 4 Amperé supplies and 8 × 16 Amperé supplies. Hopefully, this will be run by solar power but there will also be a backup generator. Switching a high load of direct current is more complicated than alternating current and losses around the example MOSFET circuit are expected to be less than 0.2W per junction. Although people are expected to bring together previously untested circuitry, it is hoped that pieces of the project will inspire multiple direct current grids in more permanent locations.
Hopefully, electrocution or voltage drop doesn't halt electrical distribution at the festival.
(Score: 4, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday July 02 2017, @08:51AM (4 children)
Ah, what???? You always have to complete the circuit!!
Yes, there is.
https://www.physics.ohio-state.edu/~p616/safety/fatal_current.html [ohio-state.edu]
Welders insulate themselves from their workspace too. Even stick welders, that work with 12 or 24V. AC or DC, doesn't matter. The difference is that if you are being electrocuted by an AC source, it is generally easier to guess by an external observer.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday July 02 2017, @11:57AM (3 children)
so no. you don't really have to 'complete the circut' like you do with dc.
just to be standing on the ground will do it.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday July 02 2017, @03:03PM
Same with DC.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday July 02 2017, @04:01PM
Which has completed the circuit because the second half of the circuit is the earth itself.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 03 2017, @08:06AM
That's a property of the circuit, not of AC.
If you are using the ground as one half of the circuit, touching the other side while standing on the ground will complete the circuit, whether you are using AC or DC.
If you are not using the ground as one half your circuit, you need to touch both sides to complete the circuit, whether you are using AC or DC.