why so much voltage and such little amperage,(reply>), metaphorically..,(reply>), so it's like the clapper gets hit by a 70ton truck, but just for an extremely short time?,(reply>), It works by electrostatic force. When the clapper (the bit that moves in the middle) touches one of the terminals, electrons transfer and they become the same polarity. Since like charges repel and opposite attract, the clapper feels a pushing force from that terminal and a pulling force from the other one, and moves toward it until it touches the other one, transferring electrons and starting the process again in the other direction. The electron transfer goes from the negative terminal to the clapper, and then from the clapper to the positive terminal.<br><br>They use high voltage because the force that the clapper feels is directly proportional to the voltage between the terminals, the current is low since it takes so few electrons for it to start moving away.