Suntan Blog

Mica capacitors are typically found in very small capacitance values (less than 100 nF). They will hold a very high voltage static charge, but only a tiny fraction of a joule, and if you handed it to someone they may not even feel the shock from it. If you really want to give someone a good jolt, you should use an electrolytic cap charged up to about 100V. Get one about 10,000 uF. Be careful, because most caps of this size will not be rated for high voltage; they'll explode if you try to charge them much above their rated working voltage.

Don't get too big a cap, or charge it to too high a voltage, because this sort of prank can cause serious burn injury if you take it too far.