Static
Electricity in Man's Jacket Leads to Burns
Believe It or Not!
The following
story appeared in USA Today. It sounds too unbelievable. We think it
is. We have never seen 30,000 Volts of static electricity from a person
or jacket burn carpet. We believe the guy may have something else going
on: Maybe fraud or just maybe too many refried beans plus 30,000 Volts.
Static
electricity in man's jacket leads to burns
SYDNEY,
Australia (AP) - A man shocked authorities after he released so much
static electricity from his jacket, he left burn marks in the carpet
of a business.
Fire officials in Victoria state said the man, Frank Clewer, had built
up at least 30,000 volts of static electricity in his jacket simply
by walking around the city of Warrnambool, according to a report by
the Australian Broadcasting Corp.
He received his first shock when he walked into a local business Thursday
afternoon. "It sounded almost like a firecracker or something like
that," Clewer told the ABC.
Burns less than an inch in diameter were left on the carpet where he
had been standing, the report said. ABC did not say if Clewer was injured.
Fire officials evacuated the building, fearing the incident might trigger
electrical problems, but let Clewer go, the report said.
When he got in his car, Clewer's problems continued.
"I actually scorched a piece of plastic I had on the floor of the
car," he said. Fire officials took Clewer's jacket and said it
continued to give off voltage.
September,
2005
