How to Make a Static Electricity Generator—Shock Anything and Fry Electronics with Just a Touch!

In the following video, I demonstrate how to create a device capable of charging the body of anyone who wears it with static electricity, allowing a powerful shock to be discharged into anything that is touched. This grants the wearer the ability to do some pretty amazing things, some of which are shown in the first segment of the video.

The parts used in this project are fairly inexpensive, totaling about $30, assuming some things are already lying around the house (such as spare wire and tape).

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In the list of parts below, I give some information to help locate the harder to find items.

Parts that can be purchased online:

• Negative ion generator (ionizer) (I bought mine here—search for SW-750)
• Automotive power converter (cheapest here, or find one at an auto parts store)

Parts that can be purchased in a hardware or electronics store (such as RadioShack):

• Flux core solder
• 2" of copper wire
• Heat shrink insulating tubing (optional)
• 9 volt battery (DO NOT USE A LARGER POWER SOURCE! Doing so may be DANGEROUS!)
• 9 volt battery harness
• On/off switch (any type will work, even a light switch if that is all that is available)
• Sticky-back Velcro
• Dual-sided Velcro (usually found in the form of cable ties)
• Glasses case
• 1 gallon bottle (Such as a windshield washer fluid bottle)
• Hot glue
• Aluminum soda can
• Duct or electrical tape

Tools:

• Soldering iron
• Screwdriver
• Scissors
• Wire strippers
• Hot glue gun
• Sandpaper
• Drill and bits
• File (optional)

I was inspired to create this video when I read the article posted here.

That article is based off of the information provided in this even older article.

There are several reasons I do not use the design that is shown in those two articles (mounting the device inside of a shoe). It is uncomfortable, fragile, requires the destruction of a pair of shoes, and would be a difficult design to replicate when needing to also fit a power converter into the sole. It is more practical perhaps if a negative ion generator that runs off of DC (direct current) is obtained, but in my long search in preparation for this project, I found no source that does not require a bulk order and shipping charges from China.

For those of you thinking, "Wait! I have a DC ionizer in my car!", unfortunately the electronics inside of an automotive ionizer (which do run off of DC) do not use the same process for creating ions, and will not work for this project. They do, however, create enough high voltage when connected to a 9 volt to provide a continuous arc between two wires if the circuitry is slightly modified; which might be an interesting project all on it's own. Perhaps something for the future.