Lichtenberg electrocution deaths - GIF

**Jon** · Sep 24, 2022, 02:47 PM

Recall the trendy internet-driven fad of "Lichtenberg figures"? AKA "fractal woodburning", which uses high voltage electricity to create attractive tree-like or lightning-like patterns in wood? 33 known deaths have occurred from it since 2017. The mortality rate in Lichtenberg injury cases from 2016-2020 is 71%.

Previously:

Lichtenberg figure woodburning GIF
Lichtenberg figure woodworking

More:

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/...002/emp2.12330
https://www.woodturner.org/Woodturne...g-Burning.aspx
https://www.woodworkingnetwork.com/n...ractal-burning
https://www.union-bulletin.com/local...b2f3dc175.html

**mdhatter3** · Sep 24, 2022, 10:06 PM

I have never seen or heard of this before. I assume from the video that the surface was wetted with some sort of liquid and then the voltage was applied. VERY dangerous!!! I can see why there were fatalities.

**meyer77** · Sep 24, 2022, 10:14 PM

I have heard of this before, I think it has a lot to do with the fact of using parts out of an old microwave oven and not properly grounding/shielding.

**Hans Pearson** · Sep 25, 2022, 08:38 AM

Recently a young girl fried all the nerves in her hands when she forgot to switch the current off from her microwave transformer and touched her workpiece. Very sad for her but a clear message that this is not a very safe hobby.

**clavius** · Sep 25, 2022, 08:42 AM

Originally Posted by mdhatter3

I have never seen or heard of this before. I assume from the video that the surface was wetted with some sort of liquid and then the voltage was applied. VERY dangerous!!! I can see why there were fatalities.

Correct, I think a salt water or similar solution is soaked into the surface of the wood. A lot of the DIY versions of this use microwave oven transformers (as noted already) or perhaps worse, oil burner ignition transformers to supply the HV. Unfortunately lots of the people trying this are following instructions they find online and many of those folks are not necessarily very knowledgeable about working around exposed electrical stuff. So they tend to underestimate or just be completely unaware of the dangers and risks. Several of the deaths that I read about resulted from simple accidents like people tripping while they have one of these in process and getting their hands onto the energized piece of wood trying to break their fall. Pretty unfortunate.

I seem to recall that youtube has actually banned posting how-to videos of this process due to the number of injuries and deaths that have occurred.

They do make really cool looking pieces though.

**tlnixon** · Sep 25, 2022, 08:49 AM

One must be knowledgeable about electricity and especially very high-voltage before doing things like this. The leads used in the video appeared to not be made of high voltage-tested wire, and the battery charger clips are also a big liability. As a tech school student in electronics in the late '70's working on the high voltage power supplies in CRT TV sets etc. there are specific safety steps to follow when working with this kind of stuff. It is NOT something you can watch a 2 minute video and then do safely!

**wimton** · Sep 25, 2022, 09:42 AM

And 2 switches that must be pressed by both hands, as often used on dangerous machines.

**tlnixon** · Sep 25, 2022, 10:16 AM

Even a very long cord that must be manually plugged into an outlet and unplugged would go a long ways long way towards safety by forcing the operator to stand a long ways away from the hazard.