Is it possible to smell electricity? Does electricity have an odor?

star_gazer

Electricity itself has no smell but electricity does create a smell. Want to smell electricity, then try this. Take a drill and remove the drill bit. Run the drill for a few seconds and then smell the vent ports at the drill motor. You will smell a sulfur like smell. Now, what you are smelling is not really electricity, but gases produced by sparks. You can see the sparks if you look carefully at the vent holes especially in a dark room. As the spark jumps through the air, something happens. The air is changed from a gas into another state of matter, called plasma. This is not like the plasma in your blood, which has the same name, but is totally different. This is a state of matter where electrons are ripped of the atoms, causing them to conduct electricity and give off light. This reaction creates ozone, but ozone is not what is really creating the majority of the smell. Much more of the smell is due to another gas produced in the plasma, a gas called nitric oxide. Once you have identified the smell, don't be surprised if you notice a similar smell after a thunderstorm. After all, a lightning bolt is a very big spark, which can produce a lot of plasma. http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_does_electricity_smell_like Apr 14 12, 8:07 PM