Shock your Trick-or-Treaters

I'm always looking for a new way to scare people on Halloween. This year, I thought up a way to make people think they are getting electrocuted when they ring the doorbell! It is very simple, requires little to no knowledge of electricity, is cheap, and can be built in only an hour or two once you have all the parts. It requires no permanent modifications to your doorbell.

Important:
Do not do this if you have a wireless or electronic doorbell. This will only work on the old-fashioned doorbells that are simply switches. You could fry electronic doorbells very easily doing this!

More Important:
I am not liable for any damages incurred through the use of these instructions. Even though it is very hard to hurt people with this, it may freak them out and get you into a legal mess. Use at your own risk!

Step 1 Theory

So, how does this thing work?

The purpose of a negative ion generator is to give extra electrons to air molecules, "ionizing" them. Negative ions are good for your health and make you feel better. In order to give molecules extra electrons, the generator must create a very high potential (voltage) between the generator and ground. In the case of this negative ion generator, it creates 15,000 volts.

Now, isn't that dangerous???
In short, no. High voltage doesn't kill people, high current does. A little math:

V*I=W
12v*0.1A = 1.2W
1.2W = 15,000v * 0.00008A

What this says is that if the generator was 100% efficient, it could achieve a maximum current of 0.08 milliamps. 5mA is the minimum current required for any lasting harm to be done, and this is well below that.

You only have to read below if you are very interested in high voltage and shocks.

Most static shocks occur due to capacitance with ground. Basically, every person is a walking capacitor. They are one plate, the ground is the other, and their shoes (or air) is the dielectric. You get charged up due to the triboelectric effect, and when you touch somebody else, you balance the charges in your capacitors. If you touch something metal connected to the ground, you discharge yourself.

This is one way to create a shock. The other way is to provide a direct path for the electricity to go, for example, touching two metal plates at different potentials at the same time. This is what causes most electrocutions. In this example, you are not a capacitor, but a conductor. These shocks are more effective because they are more controllable and more powerful, due to lower resistance.

I tried both methods when constructing this device. Method 1 (human capacitors) works fairly well when you are barefoot, but can barely be felt when you are wearing shoes. Method 2 (human conductor) works amazingly well no matter what.

Comments

[LaxLuvr]

Where can I get a negative ion generator

[T3Hprogrammer]

Get it from Goldmine Electronics, http://www.goldmine-elec-products.com/prodinfo.asp?number=G9695 for $13.95.

[ohswriting]

they are no longer avalable from that site. I have searched all the places I know. Do you know where else to get them?

[somebody12345]

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=negative+ion+generator+&_cqr=true&_nkwusc=negitive+ion+generator&_rdc=1

[jules15]

An old air cleaner would have one (120 volt version).

[Adam Manick]

You canals use a transformer with a pushbutton

[Adam Manick]

allelectronics

[T3Hprogrammer]

I do not know of any other place. If you keep watching that site, they will probably be back in stock within a few weeks or months. You can try the 120VAC version, but you must be much more careful.

[techturtle2]

lol

[YAY RANDOM !]

dip brussel sprouts in chocolate for both trick and treat

[John Smith]

That is just disgusting. How about chocolate covered asparagus?

[Derin]

how about chocolate covered asbestos

[John Smith]

also known as, "chocolate covered lawsuit"

[Derin]

then...how about chocolate covered arsenic?

[John Smith]

much better, they die before they can file a lawsuit. watch out for angry families

[bigfootduck]

or chocolate covered esparages (i know i spelled that wrong) and you can tell them it's a chocolate covered pretzel

[Derin]

chocolate covered solder

[John Smith]

yay reproductive harm... hhahahaha

[Derin]

hehe :}

[zimster42]

energized chocolate covered capacitors....its SHOCKING!!!

[YAY RANDOM !]

Lol 10 comments in a row

[santy22]

chocolate-covered chocolate! its chocolasticus, chocolicious and chocotastic!

[Derin]

meh,the chocolote would melt when you poured chocolate on it

[goeon]

chocolate covered firecracker light it and throw it in their bag

[cyrozap]

chocolate covered severed fingers... mmmmmmm... salty-iron-chocolate flavor...

[goeon]

chocolate covered mercury

[cyrozap]

chocolate covered churches

[goeon]

(removed by author or community request)

[goeon]

19 comments in a row 20 if you include this one :-)

[then]

21

[goeon]

22 :P

[Xamith]

Chocolate covered air... 23!

[goeon]

chocolate covered bullets

[Xamith]

chocolate covered leds

[goeon]

chocolate covered resistors

[Xamith]

chocolate covered toothbrush and toothpaste

[goeon]

no chocolate covered noes

[Xamith]

chocolate covered nose? mmmm, tasty

[newtons_eple]

Chocolate covered peanut butter pieces...shaped like fish. Ha! take that you non-portalers.

[DavidRobertson]

How about some chocolate covered fish shaped ethyl benzene. Dont forget thr rest tho - heres the cake ingredients one 18.25 ounce chocolate cake mix one can prepared coconut pecan frosting 3/4 cup vegetable oil 4 large eggs one cup semi-sweet chocolate chips 3/4 cup butter or margarine 1 2/3 cup granulated sugar 2 cups all purpose flower don't forget garnishes such as: fish shaped crackers fish shaped candies fish shaped solid waste fish shaped dirt fish shaped Ethel benzine pull n' peel licorice fish shaped volatile organic compounds and sediment shaped sediment candy coated peanut butter pieces; shaped like fish one cup lemon juice alpha resins unsaturated polyester resin fiberglass surface resins volatile malted milk impoundments 9 large egg yokes 12 medium geosynthetic membranes one cup granulated sugar an entry called: "How To Kill Someone With Your Bare-Hands" 2 cups rhubarb; sliced 2/3 granulated rhubarb 1 Tbsp all-purpose rhubarb 1 tsp grated orange rhubarb 3 Tbsp rhubarb; on fire 1 Large rhubarb 1 cross Bohr hole electromagnetic imaging rhubarb 2 Tbsp rhubarb juice adjustable aluminum head positioned slaughter electric needle injector cordless electric needle injector injector needle driver injector needle gun cranial caps and it contains proven preservatives, deep penetration agents, and gas and oder control chemical's that will deodorize and preserve putrid tissue.