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Registered Member #152
Joined: Sun Feb 12 2006, 03:36PM
Location: Czech Rep.
Posts: 3384
Hi all, my flyback puts out about 10cm long white flaming arc that burns around 250-300W, is it ok to look at this arc for a longer while? (I'm mainly concerned if the UV light from the arc can do any harm to my eyes)
Registered Member #72
Joined: Thu Feb 09 2006, 08:29AM
Location: UK St. Albans
Posts: 1659
If after looking at this arc you get any sensation like sand in the back of the eyes, then you've over-done it. It's from the UV, and it's a bit like sunburn. It doesn't hurt during the exposure (unless you are really cooking it), only afterwards, and like sunburn, you'll probably 'get away' with a few minor overdoses. And like sunburn, you'll probably put yourself in the situation where it's likely to happen, and like sunbrn, you can protect against it. See if you can obtain a welding helmet or pair of goggles if you want to stare at the arc for extended periods. Or just don't look at it for too long.
Geometrically Frustrated Registered Member #6
Joined: Thu Feb 02 2006, 04:18AM
Location: Bowdoin, Maine
Posts: 373
I have never heard of anyone having any such problems with flyback arcs, but that's not to say that it can't or won't happen. The only way to know for sure is to test with the proper instruments, and you probably wouldn't be asking if you had them...
You won't feel the damage until a considerable time afterwards, at which point it can be very painful. It would probably be a good idea to limit your exposure to it, or get a good pair of UV blocking goggles.
Registered Member #10
Joined: Thu Feb 02 2006, 09:45AM
Location: Bunbury, Australia
Posts: 1424
My normal glasses have a UV coating that seems very effective at blocking short and long wave UV. Not sure about sunglasses where coolness seems to be what they are about rather than UV protection. Drawn out flyback arcs dont have a high colour temperature compared to a capacitative discharge like a TC or Marx gen, so UV might be lower. Arc Welders are much hotter and into the kW range so much more UV.
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