21

Technology / What causes tingling from an electrical field?

« on: 25/05/2021 08:19:00 »

Listener Matt was wondering about electrical fields:

"When my wife is holding her iPhone and it's charging, if I touch her arm I can feel a vibrating/tingling sensation from the mains. As soon as she unplugs the phone or puts it down, the tingling stops.

Last week I was in a field near an electricity pylon with my son, and when I held his hand I felt the same thing!
Am I unusual in feeling this?

Was something dangerous when we were in the field?"

22

Physics, Astronomy & Cosmology / Would altering the moon's weight change its orbit?

« on: 24/05/2021 12:02:07 »

Listener Amber wants to know:

"If we eventually start mining the moon for minerals etc., would most of it be removed from the moon, would the lightening of the moon cause it to move away from earth more quickly than now?  If we continue to put rockets, infrastructure and people on the moon, would that make it heavier, and cause it to fall into the Earth (over time of course)?

In other words, would any change to the weight of the moon cause divergences in its orbit?"