No real reason for posting this, other than the pics are pretty darn cool Story: Guy on PCP wants to kill himself, climbs electric pole, grabs wire. Link: http://www.tb3.com/tesla/sparky.htm -R
I would be interested to know who much current was going through that wire at the time. Remember, it's the amps that kill ya!
OK..I think I can address this! A common misconception is that larger voltages are more dangerous than smaller ones. However, this is not quite true. The danger to living things comes not from the potential difference, but rather the current flowing between two points. The reason that people may believe this can be explained by the equation V = IR. Since V is directly proportional to I, an increase in voltage can mean an increase in current, if resistance (R) is kept constant. The amount of damage done by the electric shock depends not only on the magnitude of the current, but it also on which portions of the body that the electric current is flowing through. The reason for this is that different parts of the body have difference resistances, which can lead to an increase in current, evidenced by the formula V = IR. An interesting fact to note is that it takes less alternating current (AC) to do the same damage as direct current (DC). AC will cause muscles to contract, and if the current were high enough, one would not be able to let go of whatever is causing the current coursing through the body. The cut-off value for this is known as the "let-go current". For women, it is typically 5 to 7 milliamperes, and for men, typically 7 to 9 milliamperes. This is dependent on the muscle mass of the individual. In general, current that is fatal to humans ranges from 0.06 A to 0.07 A, depending on the person and the type of current. (Gee..Rob should add an icon of a nerd for replies like the above!)
Right on... I remember my old high school electronics teacher beating into our heads that it's not the voltage that gets ya, it's the amperage. I'm not sure why that never caught on though. The metrorail system in DC has signs on the 3rd rail that say "DANGER: 750 VOLTS" ... Like that matters. The amusement park game where you shock yourself and see how long you can hold on goes up to something close to that. Likewise, it's fine to test a 9v battery by touching it to your tongue, but don't try that with a 12v car battery -R
O.K. Im an electrician, And I will say its the current that kills you, BUT it takes voltage to push the current through you body. A 12volt car batter has around 900amps available, but you can touch the battery and it wont shock you, it takes about 50volts to send current through your body, at that voltage you wont get enough current pushed through you to die. But 750 volts like someone mentioned, would easily push enough current through you to die {SO VOLTAGE DOES MATTER} Only if the source has current avalable, unlike a police shocker, hurts but no current available. And DC is worse for electrical shocks, theres no zero volts or current like in the AC curcuit. And believe me I work at a Public utility district. The higher the voltage the WORSE. Because the resistance stays the same, if you increase voltage the current will go UP, there for higher voltage, more chance of DEATH.
it doesn't matter how much current is flowing in the lines before you touch them. What matters is how much current flows through YOU when you touch the wire. The only factors involved in that current are: 1) The difference in potential (voltage) between the line and whatever else you are connected to. (If you aren't connected to anything else, you won't get zapped...think squirrels & birds on power lines). 2) The resistance of the path through your body between connection points. Given that, I still prefer to play with 480 V and below for the most part. Hearing the air ionize around your screwdriver in a multi-kilovolt system just gets nerve wracking after a bit
Technicaly he didnt actually electrocute himself. That would mean he died. He just got seriously shocked. Great pics thanks.
