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posted by Fnord666 on Sunday July 02 2017, @04:41AM   Printer-friendly
from the shocking dept.

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.


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  • (Score: 4, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday July 02 2017, @08:51AM (4 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Sunday July 02 2017, @08:51AM (#534122)

    DC's generally safer because you don't have a single 'live' wire, you have to actually complete the circuit, unlike AC.

    Ah, what???? You always have to complete the circuit!!

    Plus at 42 volts I don't think that's enough to overcome the resistance of unbroken skin, is it?

    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.

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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday July 02 2017, @11:57AM (3 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Sunday July 02 2017, @11:57AM (#534147)
    Except to AC the earth itself is one side.

    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

      by Anonymous Coward on Sunday July 02 2017, @03:03PM (#534169)

      Same with DC.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday July 02 2017, @04:01PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Sunday July 02 2017, @04:01PM (#534174)

      Except to AC the earth itself is one side. 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.

      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

      by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 03 2017, @08:06AM (#534375)

      Except to AC the earth itself is one side.

      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.