When playing with a piezoelectric spark device taken from a lighter, I created a spark between it and a radiator, and noticed two effects. First, the room lights flickered (the dimmer switch for my lights was partly on, so this may be a factor). Second, when I produced the spark, it caused my computer to declare that the devices plugged into its USB ports had been removed. What caused these effects?
• The lighter is designed to generate sparks only powerful enough for ignition, but the radiator, because it was earthed, drew sparks larger than those intended to jump…
