The Personal Particle Accelerator is designed to be safe for hobbyists and students from senior high school and beyond – it won’t generate black holes, and won’t emit harmful radiation. But the following safety advice is important:
General
- If you’ve built your PPA in kit form, perform commissioning tests before completely energising.
- Store the unit away from small children. The PPA contains small parts that could be swallowed, and some items with sharp edges. Use a display case and constant supervision if intending to demonstrate it to small children.
- The PPA includes flashing LEDs. As with some other manmade or natural phenomena, the PPA’s flashing frequency may trigger a seizure in people with photosensitive epilepsy. Ensure viewers are advised of these risks before the demonstration.
Power
- Only use the recommended supply voltages: 12 to 20V DC. If voltages above this are used, the electronic components may overheat, and serious injury could occur.
- Position the power supply in an easy to reach location so that in the unlikely event of malfunction, power can be shut down without leaning over the PPA or power supply.
- Don’t leave the PPA unattended when in operation.
- Shut down the power when not in use.
Swiping (starting the PPA)
- Be careful starting the unit: a swipe of the arm is needed to manually start the unit.
- Ensure that nobody is standing in the way if you accidentally release the magnet as you swing your arm.
- Remove any steel objects from the area you swing your arm, for example, steel blades, screwdrivers, other tools, screws etc
- Avoid rubbing your hand along the mounting board as you swipe – the edge may be sharp and this could result in a cut
- Avoid hitting the other objects with your hand as you swipe, such as the electromagnet, LED strobes etc – this could result in injury to your hand