29 Oct
2006
29 Oct
'06
3:22 p.m.
--- Tony Duell <ard at p850ug1.demon.co.uk> wrote:
ahhhh. I thought I felt a little electric charge
when I held my finger on the top of one for
a few seconds (power was off at the time,
but it had been on about 10 minutes earlier).
You want to be careful here. A common tyoe of power supply, called a
switch-mode power supply starts out by rectifying (using diodes) and
smoothing (using electrolytic capacitors) the mains, producing about 350V
DC. When the power supply is connected to the mains, that voltage can
easily kill you. Even when the machine is unplugged, the stored charge in
those capacitors can be unpleasant, and may cause injury/damage.
People who know mw know I have little time for daft safety rules, but I
do treat the mains side of a switch-mode power supply with great respect.
-tony
The first
one is what I have dubbed the "power
towers" and they look like vertical batteries.
Usually come in groups of 5. Can anyone tell
me there name and/or what they do?
Sound like electrolytic capacitors. They act as
energy storage devices,