Voltage vs. Current

The basic Clark Zapper circuit, and every variation I've been able to track down, is seen as a voltage-mode device. That is, the circuit is designed to deliver a constant amplitude voltage at its output regardless of the load attached. Because of the 1K (or other non-zero value) resistor between the oscillator output pin and the connection to the handhold, the voltage across the load (you) varies from person to person and session to session. Saline solutions, silver plated handles, etc. reduce the contact resistance at the handles, but also confirm that the contact resistance at the handles is important. What if the circuit design were changes so that the contact resistance at the handles was irrelavent?

Most integrated circuits are voltage mode devices. The math is easier, the device physics are easier, and life is just more pleasant. But the field produced by a moving electron is caled electromagnetic because it has both an electric component and a magnetic component. Does anyone know which one dominates the healthful effects of a Zapper?

What if the Zapper circuit were re-designed to produce a constant current (CC) rather than a constant voltage (CV). To clarify, I know that the output of a Zapper is in fact pulsed DC (a squarewave) at some frequency. But the pulse amplitude is essentially constant at the CV IC output pin, usually around 8 to 9V. A CC output would source a peak current of some design value, and the output voltage would wander around all over the place to achieve that designed current. Given the oscilloscope shots I've seen from three different sources, my guess is that 3mA would be a good starting point, possibly increasing to 5mA after some research verifies safety. If the human body plus handle contact resistance combination varies from 1K to 10K based on conditions, then the maximum voltage *compliance* of the circuit would have to be 50V.

WHAT??? 50V??? Not even Beck.....

As I said, some safety verifying would be needed. If what I've read is accurate, the output voltage would almost never climb up to the limit. A CC circuit would actually guarantee a more regulated energy flow during a Zapper session, even as your grip force changes over time. How many people can guarantee that they are gripping the handles with exactly the same force through a standard 1-hour session? What if that didn't matter? And about that saline goop, what if it were no longer necessary? And about that whole copper ion migration thing, what if a regulated current guaranteed a known max level of ion migration, or guaranteed no migration at all?

All of this is based on the title: Voltage vs. Current. Which is more important to how a Zapper works, the voltage impressed on the body or the electron flow through it?

ak
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