Yep. That HV capacitor will turn you into orbital bacon with a quickness, and it keeps a charge for way longer than you’d ever think was realistic. In the same vein as “assume every gun is loaded”, also assume every capacitor is charged.
I think I even read it can gradually spontaneously self-charge if left alone long enough with the terminals insulated from each other. I don’t know if that’s actually true (it would seem to be a sort of Maxwell’s Daemon at that point), but yeah, best to not take chances.
They do charge over time when terminals are not shorted, but it’s not like they go from discharged to spontaneously fully charged in seconds. It’s a slow creep that happens over an extended time period.
Yep. That HV capacitor will turn you into orbital bacon with a quickness, and it keeps a charge for way longer than you’d ever think was realistic. In the same vein as “assume every gun is loaded”, also assume every capacitor is charged.
I think I even read it can gradually spontaneously self-charge if left alone long enough with the terminals insulated from each other. I don’t know if that’s actually true (it would seem to be a sort of Maxwell’s Daemon at that point), but yeah, best to not take chances.
They do charge over time when terminals are not shorted, but it’s not like they go from discharged to spontaneously fully charged in seconds. It’s a slow creep that happens over an extended time period.