>> >>>
>>>
>>>
>>> > Hello,
>>>
>>> > I live in an appartment.
>>>
>>> > Once I noticed how my computer crashed which sounded like a crazy power
>>> > surge.
>>>
>>> > So I wonder:
>>>
>>> > What happens if my neighbours cause a short circuit in the wall
>>> > socket...
>>>
>>> > Could that effect my equipment as well or are appartments somehow
>>> > protected
>>> > from that ?
>>>
>>> > Bye,
>>> > Skybuck.
>>>
>>> It's quite likely. You can buy power distribution units with filers
>>> and surge suppression built-in.
>>>
>>> My PC switched itself off recently during a thunderstorm when there
>>> was a lightning strike.
>>>
>>> Leon
>>
>>
>>
>> My computer made a neat beeping sound whenever I discharged a 200,000V
>> stun gun within 3 feet of it...
>>
>> Michael
>
>
>Wow! Does that make a spark 7 cm long (breakdown of air ~30 kV/cm)?
>
>Bet it doesn't.
>
>Chris
>
OK smart ass. Tell us why:
Most low power HV AC will not initiate an arc at that distance, but would maintain one once started.
The stun gun is an AC device, and why not DC.
The arc most certainly would initiate if it were a DC source of that potential.
As for the above, lightning strikes usually involve spikes ending up on the power feeds. Such power line anomalies can easily cause a reset, much less a beep.
The close proximity of the stun gun means a lot of HF flux gets generated. If it is local enough to a high clock rate product, it can introduce a glitch.
Such transients are usually very temporal, and only have an effect during the period in which they occur. If it does nothing at the time it happens, it won't later either. If it does something when it happens, it likely will not have any lingering effect. The only exception is if a hard drive write was taking place at the moment the glitch is introduced.