Need a little education, please… Now this may sound a little strange, but I and some other people appear to be able to feel a very small electrical current flowing in the metal casing etc of some electrical appliances, whereas others can not – and I wonder what it means.
This first started when I was a kid (a loooong time ago) and my uncle gave me an old military radio set, consisting of two big metal boxes (one a PSU, the other the actual radio) and a set of high impedance headphones. What I noticed was that, if I moved the sensitive skin on the inside of my wrist over the surface of the metal cases, I felt a strange (gentle) buzzing sensation. It wasn’t anything like a shock. I told a couple of my mates about it; they tried too, but couldn't feel anything, and marked me down provisionally as a loony who would probably get into trouble with drugs in later life. But recently I discovered that my cousin can feel it too.
So… the radio set is long gone, but occasionally, over the intervening 50-60 years, I’ve encountered the same sensation, in workplaces, people’s houses etc. I’ve always assumed it’s some kind of earthing problem, but perhaps not dangerous, as fuses aren’t blowing etc, but what do I know…
Anyway, I have recently discovered a similar phenomenon in my current house – I took the rubber cover off my mobile phone while it was charging, and felt the old familiar sensation through the metal casing.
I tested the sockets with a socket tester plug from Screwfix, and it reported all OK, but I’m aware life often isn't that simple. Can anybody comment please? Is my life in danger here? Is there any further testing a non-spark like me can do, if necessary?
Thanks
This first started when I was a kid (a loooong time ago) and my uncle gave me an old military radio set, consisting of two big metal boxes (one a PSU, the other the actual radio) and a set of high impedance headphones. What I noticed was that, if I moved the sensitive skin on the inside of my wrist over the surface of the metal cases, I felt a strange (gentle) buzzing sensation. It wasn’t anything like a shock. I told a couple of my mates about it; they tried too, but couldn't feel anything, and marked me down provisionally as a loony who would probably get into trouble with drugs in later life. But recently I discovered that my cousin can feel it too.
So… the radio set is long gone, but occasionally, over the intervening 50-60 years, I’ve encountered the same sensation, in workplaces, people’s houses etc. I’ve always assumed it’s some kind of earthing problem, but perhaps not dangerous, as fuses aren’t blowing etc, but what do I know…
Anyway, I have recently discovered a similar phenomenon in my current house – I took the rubber cover off my mobile phone while it was charging, and felt the old familiar sensation through the metal casing.
I tested the sockets with a socket tester plug from Screwfix, and it reported all OK, but I’m aware life often isn't that simple. Can anybody comment please? Is my life in danger here? Is there any further testing a non-spark like me can do, if necessary?
Thanks