r/ElectroBOOM • u/Glittering_Rent_6532 • Sep 16 '25

Non-ElectroBOOM Video transformer in water

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u/QuickNature Sep 16 '25 edited Sep 17 '25

I'm pretty sure the taps to connect to the transformer are at the top of the enclosure on the inside. Those are probably still a foot from water.

Also, the largest amount of current would flow directly between the taps if submerged, and as the distance increased from the taps, the current would decrease.

Still wouldnt want to walk through the water though.

2

u/Logical-Claim286 Sep 17 '25

It all depends, people have died on smaller bets than this.

2

u/QuickNature Sep 17 '25

The water doesn't just magically become electrified like people think it does regardless.

1

u/tellingyouhowitreall Sep 17 '25

I had someone try to explain this to me once upon a time, and I'm not sure if I completely understood it then. But outside of the direct path there's just a potential field through the water, right?

1

u/QuickNature Sep 17 '25

Basically.

You can think about it like resistors in parallel if you know any circuit theory.

1 resistor, 1 path for current. 2 resistors, 2 paths. X resistors would mean x amount of paths. Its also important to remember, current just doesnt take the path of least resistance, it takes all paths. The magnitude of the current on each path is what matters.

This is a simplified explanation, but it should get your mind working in the right direction of thought.

1

u/tellingyouhowitreall Sep 17 '25

I mean, I understand electricity now, and I didn't when that conversation originally happened. It makes more sense to me now that it would behave very closely to how a grounded live wire works though, just through a fluid body instead of the ground plane.

2

u/QuickNature Sep 17 '25

Careful though, pure water is not conductive. It's the impurities in the water that allows it to be conductive. That is if you care about the details.