How dangerous is the capacitor from a flash camera?

Question

I want to use the flash circuit to make a coil gun, but how dangerous is it? What will happen if I get shocled? Will it just hurt or will I die?

Answer 1

Usually those capacitors are in the neighborhood of 100 microFarads, at 450 volts. That means they store about 10 Joules of energy. Your dry skin resistance can be anywhere from 5000 to 100,000 Ohms. In the worst-case (5000 Ohms) that means that capactor can completely discharge on your fingers 2.5 seconds. 10 Joules in 2.5 seconds is 4 Watts -- not much power, not much energy. You'll certainly feel a little jolt (from 450 volts) if you touch the leads with a bare finger, but it shouldn't do any harm.

As a point of reference, a heart-difibrullator jump starts the heart with 200 to 400 Joules of energy, with wet electrodes, directly across the heart.

But, as a pure safety precaution: Just don't grab the 2 capacitor leads with 2 separate hands. Keep one hand in your pocket when you handle a charged capacitor.

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Answer 2

I have been shocked by the capacitor in my digital camera. Happened when I was taking it apart. Im still alive.