Question about shock

[HarveyH42]

Is it safe to charge a small electrolytic capacitor, toss at a "friend" in electronics class, and yell, "here, catch"?

 

[dknguyen]

I hate it when other people in the lab charge up a capacitor and then poke you with it. That's when you punch them. No one has gone to the hospital yet though.

 

[Nigel Goodwin]

I hate it when other people in the lab charge up a capacitor and then poke you with it. That's when you punch them. No one has gone to the hospital yet though.

You're not punching hard enough then!

 

[Paul Obrien]

The number of people reportedly (and who trusts reporters) die from testing batteries on their tongues is a suprisingly large number. Don't ask me how they do it, maybe they jump in shock. The 3V/3R/1A question is definately not the resistor shouldn't even get hot enough to burn your hand and let some infection in.

 

[agent420]

Ahh, the old voltage/current murder_death_kill thread... Yup, it's been about a week since I last saw one

To be honest, this one actually has good techincal content and the original questions are worded as legitimate questions. I think I like it here

 

[epilot]

some times ago i heard a person has made a device to protect people against high voltage, i don't know how it was working but i am suspect about that.

i saw a child that touched a 100W lamp(in series with his hands and 220V) and turned it on safely!!!!!!

anyway i afraid of high voltage especially working with TV's

 

[mramos1]

Ahh! Metalic body suit, that will do it.

 

[Hero999]

It also depends on the whether the current is DC or AC and frequency also has an effect, 50Hz is more deadly than DC but 50kHz AC is safer than DC.

Also not that the resistance of your skin generally drops at higher voltages, so you may measure your resistance a 1M with a multimeter and think you'll be alright if you're connected to 500V DC as only 0.5mA will flow though you but you're wrong your resistance is likely to drop to <5k so >100mA will flow which is deadly.

 

[Noggin]

50kHz AC is safer than DC.

but CCFL inverters sure do make your hands stink when you try to pick them up

 

[Hero999]

But you don't feel the shock, you just feel the heating effects.

 

[Nigel Goodwin]

It also depends on the whether the current is DC or AC and frequency also has an effect, 50Hz is more deadly than DC but 50kHz AC is safer than DC.

This has LONG being a point of contention, back to Edison and Westinghouse, electrocuting cows in the street and resulting in the introduction of the electric chair.

For MY point of view, DC is more dangerous, as if you grab a live wire the DC current 'locks' your muscles preventing you letting go. 50Hz AC though will normally make your muscles relax and contract in turn, usually throwing you away and (hopefully?) keeping you safer.

 

[catcat]

It's the voltage that hurts, and the current that kills. 1A is the lethal limit. A battery is about I would guess 100mA. U.S. Outlets are 10A. I dont know about others.

 

[Hero999]

What are you talking about? 100mA would kill you for sure!

Most batteries can supply more than 100mA but thier voltage is to low to overcome your body's resistance an allow a lethal current to flow, but the 120V AC is a high enough voltage to allow a deadly current to flow.

 

[mramos1]

My US outlets here in Florida provide 15AMPs (110volts AC) per circuit in the house.. What part of the US are you in?

And don't mess with my hot water heater outlet, clothes dyer outlet, my welder outlet or RV hookup.. 30AMP and 50 AMPS...

Again, the bodies resistance is a good thing. Takes very little current to stop the heart.

 

[dknguyen]

This has LONG being a point of contention, back to Edison and Westinghouse, electrocuting cows in the street and resulting in the introduction of the electric chair.

For MY point of view, DC is more dangerous, as if you grab a live wire the DC current 'locks' your muscles preventing you letting go. 50Hz AC though will normally make your muscles relax and contract in turn, usually throwing you away and (hopefully?) keeping you safer.

The cycling at 60Hz is pretty damn fast for human time scale. I don't think your muscle would relax long enough to give you a chance. I've never heard 50Hz being dangerous more dangerous than 50kHz. I don't see how frequency would make someting less dangerous.

 

[Someone Electro]

You cant even feal 50 khz becuse the nerves are not fast enugh to transfer such a high freq.

I have pulled arcs to my finger from a 3kV +20khz source but i codlt not feal much only thing is if you let the arc stay in one point it will burn you, and thing has a stinging feal.

My frend was once instaling a outlet for the airconditioning and a fool down stairs fliped up the circuit breakers while he was holding the live.He got a painful shock but still is alive.He also sead his arm hurt for a few minutes.

 

[dknguyen]

Sig

Did you change your sig for this thread? Or has it always been like that, Someone Electro?

 

[Nigel Goodwin]

The cycling at 60Hz is pretty damn fast for human time scale. I don't think your muscle would relax long enough to give you a chance.

You've obviously never had many electric shocks

BTW, 'relax' isn't the right word!, 'spasm' would be closer!.

 

[HarveyH42]

High frequency AC travels on the surface of insulators, atleast from a Tesla Coil. This is over 100kHz, not sure at what frequency this phenomenon begins. Its not a shock, more like a creepy, bugs crawling all over feeling... Still kinda of sucks though, just not dangerous like outlet shocks.

 

[raybo]

do believe that a D cell will kill you. it will actualy kill because the cell can provide 2 amps into a short circuit. now people are going to argue but there is no voltage? ha but there is current and that kills not voltage. now before anybody jump in and say it is wrong the idea is to get to the blood supply and heart. break the skin the barrier is gone with sodium in the blood you can and some did die of this same consequence. put a tonque to the battery to see if it is good. I got zapped by a hi volts TV many times but the 22megohms in series saved ME. Same discussion as before put 16kv ac distribution supply and and you are floating 20 feet in the air insualted and you put your index finger and thumb as a short you will cook your fingers but you will survive. not many people know this but a fallen power line on the ground is not safe to move after it seems dead power co. will try to clear the fault three times before giving up that is standard procedures.