How bad could it have been?

[djrichie_t]

hmm this is where i managed to clear up where people get mislead by the fact where 'its not the volts that kill, its the current'

so i lick my fingers and place both hands across the terminals of a 12v car battery capable of delivering thousands of amps, and nothing happens, dont feel a thing. I then get him (person im explaining to) to do the same then i say 'stick your fingers in a 6 amp light socket'.

he almost did aswell! Thats when i explained the more volts, the more shock you would get hence V/R(skin resistance) - I (amps)

 

[ban-all-sheds]

hmm this is where i managed to clear up where people get mislead by the fact where 'its not the volts that kill, its the current'

OOI, what do you mean "misled"? It is the current that kills you...

 

[jpdw]

hi, just wondering really, i've been shocked twice in my life, once when i was about 13 and decided to see how a 4 way extension lead worked, i took the plastic casing off plugged in my tv and touched the live metal inside, it gave me one hell of a shock

Takes me back a bit...
First elec shock I got I think I was 7 or 8. Parents gave me a battery & some wire and some bulbs/bulbholders (IIRC, it was to go on top of a model lighthouse). Looked nice but I wanted the bulb to glow brigher so I wired the bulb to a 3-pin plug. I got a belt just touching the insulated wires (which of course I know *now* is cos they were only low volt rated). I was shaking for minutes & convinced I was gonna die !

Anyway, long story short I taught me to respect electricity [and make sure things are OFF first]

(just realised that I've NEVER told ANYONE about that.... good job my parents dont use the net)

[2nd shock was caused by careless use of screwdriver near a TV's line output transformer whilst working for a TV manufacturer... that REALLY hurt]

Back on the comments about hand-to-hand being worse etc, I have a vaugue memory of a science teacher once saying that a shock through your left hand to ground is worse than right hand to ground because L/H is more directly via the heart. Sometimes wondered if that was just twaddle .. both are pretty bad and I've never really wanted to test the theory.