page_title: Electric spark
section_title: Hazards
hierarchical_section_title: Electric spark / Hazards
caption_attribution_description: English: An electric spark from a stun gun at 150,000 volts.
context_page_description: An electric spark is an abrupt electrical discharge that occurs when a sufficiently high electric field creates an ionized, electrically conductive channel through a normally-insulating medium, often air or other gases or gas mixtures. Michael Faraday described this phenomenon as "the beautiful flash of light attending the discharge of common electricity".
  The rapid transition from a non-conducting to a conductive state produces a brief emission of light and a sharp crack or snapping sound. A spark is created when the applied electric field exceeds the dielectric breakdown strength of the intervening medium. For air, the breakdown strength is about 30 kV/cm at sea level. Experimentally, this figure tends to differ depending upon humidity, atmospheric pressure, shape of electrodes and the corresponding spacing between them and even the type of waveform, whether sinusoidal or cosine-rectangular. At the beginning stages, free electrons in the gap are accelerated by the electrical field. As they collide with air molecules, they create additional ions and newly freed electrons which are also accelerated. At some point, thermal energy will provide a much greater source of ions.
context_section_description: Sparks can be hazardous to people, animals or even inanimate objects. Electric sparks can ignite flammable materials, liquids, gases and vapors. Even inadvertent static-discharges, or small sparks that occur when switching on lights or other circuits, can be enough to ignite flammable vapors from sources like gasoline, acetone, propane, or dust concentrations in the air, such as those found in flour mills or more generally in factories handling powders. 
  Sparks often indicate the presence of a high voltage, or "potential field". The higher the voltage; the farther a spark can jump across a gap, and with enough energy supplied can lead to greater discharges such as a glow or an arc. When a person is charged with high-voltage static-charges, or is in the presence of high-voltage electrical supplies, a spark can jump between a conductor and a person who is in close enough proximity, allowing the release of much higher energies that can cause severe burns, shut down the heart and internal organs, or even develop into an arc flash. 
  High-voltage sparks, even those with low energy such as from a stun gun, can overload the conductive pathways of the nervous system, causing involuntary muscle-contractions, or interfere with vital nervous-system functions such as heart rhythm. When the energy is low enough most of it may be used just heating the air, so the spark never fully stabilizes into a glow or arc. However, sparks with very low energy still produce a "plasma tunnel" through the air, through which electricity can pass. This plasma is heated to temperatures often greater than the surface of the sun, and can cause small, localized burns. Conductive liquids, gels or ointments are often used when applying electrodes to a person's body, preventing sparks from forming at the point of contact and damaging skin. Similarly, sparks can cause damage to metals and other conductors, ablating or pitting the surface; a phenomenon which is exploited in electric etching. Sparks also produce ozone which, in high enough concentrations, can cause respiratory discomfort or distress, itching, or tissue damage, and can be harmful to other materials such as certain plastics.
caption: An electric spark produced by a stun gun. At 150,000 volts, the spark can easily jump a gap greater than an inch (2.5 cm).
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