The marx generators are dangerous high voltage generating machines, they produce a pulse discharge of many thousands of volts at approximately 5 to 10 amps! If the spark from the marx generator bites you, your life is over...



There is one thing you must know, a healthy human heart can only withstand electric currents maximum 10mA. Currents over 10mA can results death, I am NOT joking here, this is serous stuff, a lot of people thinks your heart can handle currents up to 500mA, THIS IS NOT TRUE!!! THEY ARE WRONG!!! If you don't believe me, then test your self against a high voltage 500mA power supply, a small microwave transformer would do, put your hand on one lead, put your other hand on the other lead, turn on the power supply and you will be sorry...



The marx generator will also be dangerous after the power is turned off, because the capacitors will hold a lethal charge in them, so, MAKE ABSOLUTELY SURE YOU DRAIN ALL THE CAPACITORS BEFORE YOU TOUCH THE DEVICE!!! Otherwise you will get a 'surprise shock' form the capacitors which can seriously harm you or even death...



Also, every time a marx generator fires (make a spark), it kicks out a lot of UV radiation, and sometimes X-rays! Staring at the sparks form the marx generator can cause problems with your eyes, so wear UV sunglasses or briefly watch it every once a while. If you want to be safe, use laser protection glasses, it will take out nearly all of the UV emitted from the spark and you might not be able to see the spark well, but it much better for your eyes.





Okay, you might be a bit scared after reading this horrible step, so do you think you can build a marx generator? Or find it too dangerous to build it? The choice is yours...