5 ms·

I do wonder how insect zappers work though.

• blunte 9y ago
  ... they have a power source ...
• gus_massa 9y ago
  From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fly-killing_device#Electric_flyswatter https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fly-killing_device#Electric_fl... > The handle contains a battery-powered high-voltage generator. The circuit is composed of an electronic oscillator, a step-up transformer and a voltage multiplier, [...] A capacitor attached to the electrodes discharges during the spark, and this initial discharge usually stuns or kills the fly. Follow the links in Wikipedia to understand how each step works.
  • yuhong 9y ago
    Yea, that is the point of me posting this. The point is that it is pretty similar.
    • gus_massa 9y ago
      They are quite different. This paper device use a chain of small drops that have different chemical composition that produce a small voltage. Using a chain of them they get a high voltage. The insect zapper use only one or two batteries (that are chemical cells) to produce 1.5V or 3V and the use a complex electric circuit to produce the high voltage. (There is some ladder of capacitor in the voltage multiplier that are slightly similar to the chemical cells in the paper device, but I think they have more differences than similarities.)