Electrical safety underpins practical electronics - practical work should be safe and electrical circuits should be safe. This lesson looks at both electrical safety in the electronics lab and considers the hazards to be avoided and also considers domestic electricity. Domestic mains voltages are never used in electronics, a suitable power supply is always used to provide a low voltage. It is still very important to know about the hazards, and the measures taken to avoid these, when dealing with domestic electricity.
Reading: The "Electrical Safety" webpage covers the affects of electricity on the human body, the meaning of an electric shock, what is meant by ohmic heating and when this is useful or dangerous and considers the dangers of capacitors. Read down to, and including, the section about transformers before watching the next two videos.
Video: The effects of ohmic heating.
Video: Why being careful with capacitors matters.
Reading: Working safely in the (typical) electronics lab and in general is considered along with a very basic guide to first aid although it is always better to undertake recognised first aid training. Finish reading the Electrical Safety page and think how the safety advice is relevant to your own situation.
Reading: The "Domestic Electricity" webpage looks at electricity in the home. Read down to, and including the section about the Earth circuit then watch the next video.
Video: A detailed look at the Earth circuit and how fuses work.
Reading: Finish reading the Domestic Electricity page.
Review your learning by working through the presentations or notes which summarise the website content.
Presentation: Powerpoint download. A summary of electrical safety with questions and answers.
Notes: PDF download. The electrical safety website content as a pdf document.
Presentation: Powerpoint download. A summary of domestic electricity with questions and answers.
Notes: PDF download. The domestic electricity website content as a pdf document.
Complete either the questions (pdf download) OR the on-line quiz. They are the same questions.
Questions: PDF download. 10 questions about Electrical Safety with answers.
Quiz: On-line Electrical Safety quiz. 10 questions that can be repeated as many times as required.
Questions: PDF download. 10 questions about Domestic Electricity with answers.
Quiz: On-line Domestic Electricity quiz. 10 questions that can be repeated as many times as required.
I can:
© Paul Nicholls
June 2020
Electronics Resources by Paul Nicholls is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
