I remember a time in 7th grade power/shop class when we were disassebling
and reassembling small 2-stroke lawn-mower engines.  The engines we were
working with used magnetos for ignition.  For those unfamiliar with
magnetos, the flywheel has a strong magnetized area that passes by a
stationary coil and the moving field induces voltage in the coil.  We were
working in small groups and one of my teammates disbelieved that it was
possible to generate a spark with the pistons, etc. removed from the engine.
I slid the crankshaft and flywheel back into place and invited him to hold
on to the plug wire and touch the engine block ... he obliged ... I gave the
flywheel a quick twist and he jumped around the room cussing and shaking his
hands while the rest of us laughed our a**es off!


Adam Davis wrote:
>One could hear the distinctive click of the fencer if one was listening for
it,
>and it was very regular.
>
>Once in awhile one would say to another less knowledgable person, "See?
The
>fence isn't on." While casually holding it for the brief second between
clicks.
>Then 'encouraging' them to find out for themselves.
>
>But then, what do you expect of young mad scientists who have easy access
to a
>high-voltage generator?