# Plasma Ball Interference



## dragon2309

Hey, ive had a pretty big plasma ball on my shelf for a while but i never turn it on cos its just tucked away on the shelf. Seeing as i spend 80% of my time at my PC, i was thinking i could put it on top of my PC.

Now my question is this, does the plasma ball produce any interference of deadly stuff that could kill my PC. Its not magnetic so thats one big worry out of the way. Any ideas?

dragon


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## ckfordy

I wouldnt think it would harm anything.  but make sure you dont break it when it is sitting on top of your PC.


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## apj101

I think it should be safe to put your plasma ball on top of or near your PC set. No appreciable current should flow into or out of the plasma ball (except on the power cord), because the glass is an insulator and the base should be grounded (or at least disconnected from anything). A small amount of charge is polarized in the glass, but damaging currents cannot flow.


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## Yasu

Found this on Wikipedia...



> One should be careful when placing electronic devices (such as a computer mouse) nearby or upon the plasma lamp: not only may the glass become hot, but the high voltage may place a substantial static charge into the device, even through a protective plastic casing. The radio frequency field produced by plasma lamps can interfere with the operation of trackpads used on laptop computers, digital audio players, and other similar devices. Additionally, it should be noted that when a metal is placed on the surface of a plasma lamp's glass, a danger of shock and burns does exist; it is very easy for electricity to be emitted from the lamp if said metal comes in contact or close proximity with certain other materials, including human tissue.



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plasma_ball

Can never be too careful when it comes to your computer's health.


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## SC7

YO, those things are so cool...  Sorry to hijack the thread.  Yea, I'd be careful, because some pull is making those waves that are very similar to the electricity in computers, get that pull.


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## dragon2309

hmmm..... contrasting opinions coming out here.... i dont know what to do now, on the other hand there was that mod that i saw a while back where some guy mounted a 3 inch plasma ball inside a computer and had the globe bit poking out of a blow hole at the top of the case....

hmm, what to do, what to do...?

dragon


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## SC7

I'd be safe, unless you can afford a screw up...


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## elmarcorulz

http://www.bit-tech.net/article/95/2 said:
			
		

> Q: What about interference, static, electromagnetic radiation, magnetic fields, tachyon beams, or other bad mojo that could result if I install this in my PC?
> A: You have to make decisions on your own about whether the risk is worth it. But consider that this is more or less the same principle used in a fluorescent lamp, it's just round and has some different gases inside it. There's high voltage AC from the inverter. You'll want to be careful that you don't connect that to anything metal in your case. I took extra care to have nonconductive pieces only in touch with the globe surface. You'll want to make sure your chassis is properly grounded (earthed), and verify the outlet you are using for power is properly grounded/earthed as well. I've had no indication that running this in my case is different that using a neon or fluorescent lamp.


Look at the site for more info


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## dragon2309

thats the mod i was thinking about, cheers elmarco, hmmm, i cant really afford a screw up, money is real tight atm... i think i might just leave it.... cheers everyone.

dragon


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