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It is a matter of annoyance to me that people say things like "It's not the volts, it's the amps that kill you." Seeing something like:
- With line currents above 2 milliamperes...
points out, I think, a great deal of confusion in this matter. Line current is not important; the current through your body is important. Line voltage is important, as it in part determines the current through your body.
I don't really know how to fix this article so it is factual, but doesn't rely too heavily on explanations of Ohm's law, etc. I also don't think it should look like a compromise between the "voltage" and "current camps", since there aren't really two points of view here. Idea? [[User:CyborgTosser|CyborgTosser (Only half the battle)]] 23:38, 28 Oct 2004 (UTC)
Upon further review, I'm not sure about a lot of the information here. For example, most other sources I find list currents about 10 times here for each of the effects (about 10-15mA for unable to let go of wires, hundreds of mA for fribulation). And to say that the voltages in homes are a deadly combination seems a bit alarmist. I'm going to do some more research before touching this one. [[User:CyborgTosser|CyborgTosser (Only half the battle)]] 00:01, 29 Oct 2004 (UTC)
- agreed the figures do seem a bit low (maybe they are absoloute worst cases rather than likely values or something) generally below 50V or 60V is considered to be safe for humans to touch directly
- mains can be deadly it all depends on the situation and the duration but the iee seem to belive based on thier research that a RCD with a 30ma trip and a fast trip time (im not sure how fast but its documented) will in almost all cases be sufficiant to save a healthy person in the event of a mains shock (though they do say it should not be used as the sole means of protection from direct contact.
- the real danger at mains voltages without rcd protection comes if a shock leaves you unable to remove yourself from the source of shock (a grab on a live conductor is far worse than touching one) Plugwash 11:20, 8 Dec 2004 (UTC)
Since mains current is AC, though, it cannot cause your muscles to contract. The alternating polarity will cancel out and you won't hang on. A strong DC current can make your muscles contract around the electrical source.
Adam850
That's false. AC certainly can cause contraction of muscles. Muscles aren't motors, and the way in which electricity disrupts normal neuromotor control isn't a matter of superposition. --Blair P. Houghton 04:26, 28 Jan 2005 (UTC)
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