Mixing Electricity and Water

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SLAC physicist Andrew Fisher holds a section of heavy copper winding used as a conductor in electromagnets hollowed out to carry low conductivity cooling water.
SLAC physicist Andrew Fisher holds a section of heavy copper winding used as a conductor in electromagnets, hollowed out to carry low conductivity cooling water.

Every hair dryer in America is tagged with a large warning label not to use it near water for one obvious reason: mixing the two could result in electrocution and even death. But did you know that it is not actually the water that presents the threat?


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All News summaries from Physics news
All News summaries for August 09, 2007

Surface tension drives segregation within cell mixtures

4 hours ago | User rating: not rated yet
What does a mixture of two different kinds of cells have in common with a mixture of oil and water? The same basic force causes both mixtures to separate into two distinct regions.

Fuzziness on the road to physics' grand unification theory

5 hours ago | User rating: not rated yet
Leave it to hypothesized gravity to weigh down what physicists have thought for 30 years. If theoretical physicists, led by the University of Oregon's Stephen Hsu, are right, the idea that nature's forces ...

In quantum channels, zero plus zero can equal non-zero

9 hours ago | User rating: not rated yet
(PhysOrg.com) -- Physicists have discovered a strange characteristic of quantum communication channels. If two quantum channels each have a transmission capacity of zero, they may still have a nonzero capacity ...

Brilliantly bright light source is one step closer to reality, says scientist

Oct 03, 2008 | User rating: not rated yet
(PhysOrg.com) -- A brilliantly bright light source that can examine the detail of atoms at a microscopic level is one step closer, thanks to the adoption of a Europe-wide convention, says a leading scientist ...

Coastlines could be protected by 'invisibility cloak'

Oct 02, 2008 | User rating: not rated yet
Scientists at the University of Liverpool have tested an 'invisibility cloak' that could reduce the risk of large water waves overtopping coastal defences.