Getting Shocked?

i remember my science teacher saying that 2 amps can kill you in water. i got tazed by correctional officers during a riot at buena vista prison. it hurt, but i expected it to be far worse. tazers are around 20,000 volts i think.
8 milliamps, or .08 amperes directly across your heart will stop it.

I have been shocked by a spark plug ... My arm was half way between the engine and the battery while holding a spark plug to test for spark on a '68 GTO. ( Yes I was holding them with specially designed insulated pliers.)

The spark jumped from the block, down my arm, and to the battery. Scared the living shit out of me. I could see it too. Crazy.

 
its not voltage that kills you. its the amperage //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/wink.gif.608e3ea05f1a9f98611af0861652f8fb.gif
High voltage tends to be more dangerous, however. No one has ever been killed by 12V.

Frequency also plays a major role. My professor told us that they chose a very bad frequency for wall sockets (120V @ 60 Hz).

 
High voltage tends to be more dangerous, however. No one has ever been killed by 12V.
Frequency also plays a major role. My professor told us that they chose a very bad frequency for wall sockets (120V @ 60 Hz).
Negative. The difference isn't about frequency or voltage, its AC vs DC. Alternating current is MUCH more dangerous than direct current. People have been struck by lightning and survived (Lightning is DC @ Millions of volts)

 
Negative. The difference isn't about frequency or voltage, its AC vs DC. Alternating current is MUCH more dangerous than direct current. People have been struck by lightning and survived (Lightning is DC @ Millions of volts)
Are you saying that frequency does not play a role in electrocution? Voltage also does have an effect because it helps to determine how much current will flow into the body.

http://raise.spd.louisville.edu/systom/EE220/L14.asp

 
Are you saying that frequency does not play a role in electrocution? Voltage also does have an effect because it helps to determine how much current will flow into the body.
http://raise.spd.louisville.edu/systom/EE220/L14.asp
I'm saying that generally, DC current is much safer to be around than AC current. MOST AC systems will be in the "dangerous" category, and most DC systems will be in the "safer" category.

 
Most AC systems that you come across are of the higher voltage variety (120V+) compared to the whopping 12V DC systems that are the most common. Most really high voltage systems are AC (simply easier to get AC voltage with a basic transformer). Depending on what you're working with there are plenty of really dangerous high voltage DC systems out there. Most people just aren't around them.

 
Most AC systems that you come across are of the higher voltage variety (120V+) compared to the whopping 12V DC systems that are the most common. Most really high voltage systems are AC (simply easier to get AC voltage with a basic transformer). Depending on what you're working with there are plenty of really dangerous high voltage DC systems out there. Most people just aren't around them.
Exactly what I was trying to say... Just didn't come out right. HVDC transmission lines from power generating facilities are serious DC power systems. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

 
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