Blowing Up Stuff With Capacitor Bank!

Intro: Blowing Up Stuff With Capacitor Bank!

Don't try this at home.
I dug up some capacitors in the basement and decided to hook all of them up in parallel and see what happens when I short them out through different objects.
Stupid you might say, and it is. I'll probibly die of eletricution someday if not today....

STEP 1: What Happens When You Hook It Up to 0.7 Pencil?

What happens when you hook it up to 0.7 pencil?

I saw in Popular Science that if you run low voltage and high current through carbon graphite rods, you will create a very intense light, that could possibly blind you if your not wearing welding goggles.

I tried it out with 0.7 pencil led and it was SUPER COOL~.
First the by-products in the led burst on fire, and then the whole piece was glowing intense red, and it seemed to sharpend the end of the led. Later I can product insanely intense light that is brighter than a camera flash with the sharpened end!

Please post more stupid or crazy ideas I should try.

STEP 2: Hooking It Up to an LED

NEVER HOOK UP AN LED TO ONE OF THESE THINGS OR A 9 VOLT BATTERY!!!

I first connected an LED to the cap bank in reverse, it got really hot and started to sizzle, and it stinks really really bad. Then I connected the LED in the correct polarity, and it blew up as soon as I connected the wire. The outer layer of LED blow up like a bomb, flying everywhere.Good thing I was waring my goggles, because 1 piece shot right at my eye.

Then I tried to hook up a LED to a fresh 9 volt battery, and it also exploded. Very cool.

Sorry no pictures.. The led exploded too quick for me to take a snap shot, I'll post an exploded led on here sometimes soon.

STEP 3: Fun With Tin Foil

Here is what happens when you short out the cap bank with tin foil.

Comments

[Goose]

Where can you find this type of capacitors ? Is there anything I can dig into and take apart to pull something so big?

If not where is a good place to buy them?

[RedstoneM]

It surely isn't brighter than a camera flash, they have more than 10kW usually

[eldar7]

 WOW nice one!!!
what whode happen if i user 2.5v 120F caps??(yes 120F caps!!!)
is it will be strong like this to?

[grenadier]

No, supercaps have a very high ESR.

[Callum Snowden]

Ive seen capacitors rated at 2.5vdc and 3000F!!!!!!!!!!!!! :)

[that one guy]

I'm pretty sure you already know this, but wouldn't a switch let you set it off from a safer distance?

[mikemmcmeans]

no then the switch would arc and shock his hand defeating the entire purpose

[Spedy]

You could use a SCR to switch the currents, it would be a lot safer then just touching two wires together.

[awesomesquared]

Or you could just use a really long pole

[James (pseudo-geek)]

have the switch power a relay which powers the circuit

[mattccc]

try makeing a coil gun with these caps

[dla888]

I think that would be a coil gun that falls into the artillery class of coil guns.

[tinstructable]

No. The one I'm building would. I'm using a 13,900 Joule Bank. 400v. I'm already scared.

[Terivia]

THAT IS AWESOME!
*runs off to connect the led to a 9v with a switch, and package it all up like a gun*

[Buster108]

i made a capacitor bank out of disposable camera capacitors and i hooked it up to little metal rod and some how idk how,but the little rod shot at my palm almost going to through the other side.... i have no idea how this happened but i wasnt too happy about my ER bill... just a little warning..

[bylerfamily]

That is called the railgun effect.

[matstermind]

i thought you needed a electromagnet to create a coil gun

[bylerfamily]

The electromagnet effect can be created by many things.

[matstermind]

but there has to be a coil of wire, or other conductive material. right?

[bylerfamily]

Right,in this case the rod.