American student died from electric shock, repeating a physical experiment with YouTube

On YouTube you can find videos of many interesting scientific experiences. However, some of them are life threatening. Such a tragedy occurred with a 15-year-old boy from Ohio.

Parents found Morgan Wojciechowski in the garage, where he tried to repeat a physical experiment with Jacob’s ladder , demonstrating some of the properties of an electric arc.

In the experiment, a high voltage with a sufficiently large current (at least 15mA) is applied to the two electrodes. In the place where the electrodes are located closest to each other, an arc occurs. The air heats up and rises up along with the arc. The process is repeated until the top of the ladder is reached. After that, the electric arc will arise again in the lower part of the electrodes. It looks very beautiful.

The police found in the garage a power supply unit from a microwave oven, connected through an extension cord to an outlet and connected with wires to two copper electrodes.

Local County Sheriff's Deputy Jared Oliver said the experiment was not part of the school assignment. The teenager performed it independently, with the knowledge of the parents.

In some instructionson YouTube to implement this dangerous experience emphasize that it can not be carried out at home. Upon contact with any part, the body receives a discharge of more than 10,000 volts. In addition, sparks from an electric arc burn paper and plastic, creating a fire hazard.