> From: John Hudson <OM4T@xxxxxxxxxxx>
>
> Is it the voltage that matters or the amperage ?
Actually, it's ultimately the energy -- a combination of voltage,
amperage, and time. Make any one of the three small enough, and
there's no problem.
But practically, it's the voltage. Too much voltage causes semi-
conductor "breakdown," which in itself is not fatal, but when the
breakdown voltage is exceeded, then the resistance goes way down,
which causes lots of current to flow for a prolonged period of time,
and the excess power cannot be safely dissipated, and something melts.
You can safely test breakdown voltage if the current is limited so to
that which results in an amount of power that can safely be dissipated
as heat without melting anything. That's how semiconductor curve
tracers work.
:::: In every country and in every age, the priest has been hostile to
liberty. He is always in alliance with the despot, abetting his abuses
in return for protection to his own... Christianity neither is, nor
ever was, a part of the common law. -- Thomas Jefferson ::::
:::: Jan Steinman http://www.EcoReality.org ::::
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