110 stings, 220 hurts. What's the least amount of voltage that can accidentally kill you ?

Question

No water involved.

Answer 1

even a smaller voltage can kill, especially if it's D.C. what you don't seem to realize is that it's not the voltage that kills, it's the current. the human heart will stop if the body itself is carrying about 1.5 amps. the relevant relation is Ohm's law, V=IR, where I is current and R is resistance of the circuit. So, lower resistance means that a higher current will result from a given voltage, get it? what is dangerous, therefore, is low resistivity environs.

Answer 2

Nobody actually got it right, of the ten answers so far, in the detail of he amount of current that stops the heart! But, other factors include the frequency (50, or 60 cycles per second?) as 60 Cycles is more often fatal! Being a multiple of the average human heart rate!

That is one reason most quoted for 50 Cycles/second being preferred in the EU...

It is not safe to be shocked by anything over 20 Milli Amperes!!!

Teletype signals were typically 20 ma, or 60ma, at 70 volts.
Yes, there were different standards. The 60ma was to be avoided in our work, and we had to shut down to work on the machines, while most often we could work in machines still energized with 20 ma!

Been 'buzzed ' by both, plus, 110 at 60Cycles, 220 at 50 and at 60, and 440 at 60 cycles! Luckily, each time, I handled the wiring in expectation of getting 'bit', in such a way as to be thrown off of the wire! Some of my co-workers and friends have not been so blessed!

OK??? The right level of current, at any voltage, can be fatal, and stop the heart. Now, the lethal current level needed varies, and, what part of the heart's cycle it is in when the current is applied is also critical! As is the age and health of the subject, the conductivity of the body (humidity of the air, plus the hydration of the subject), and, the places where the electrodes are applied!

Answer 3

You will get varying answers because It's not the voltage that kills, but the amperage.

Issues affecting lethality are frequency, which is an issue in causing cardiac arrest or muscular spasms, and pathway - if the current passes through the chest or head there is an increased chance of death. From a mains circuit the damage is more likely to be internal, leading to cardiac arrest.

The comparison between the dangers of alternating current and direct current has been a subject of debate ever since the War of Currents in the 1880s. DC tends to cause continuous muscular contractions that make the victim hold on to a live conductor, thereby increasing the risk of deep tissue burns. On the other hand, mains-frequency AC tends to interfere more with the heart's electrical pacemaker, leading to an increased risk of fibrillation. AC at higher frequencies holds a different mixture of hazards, such as RF burns and the possibility of tissue damage with no immediate sensation of pain. Generally, higher frequency AC current tends to run along the skin rather than penetrating and touching vital organs such as the heart. While there will be severe burn damage at higher voltages, it is normally not fatal.

It is believed that human lethality is most common with AC current at 100-250 volts, as lower voltages can fail to overcome body resistance while with higher voltages the victim's muscular contractions are often severe enough to cause them to recoil (although there will be considerable burn damage). However, death has occurred from supplies as low as 32 volts.

Electrical discharge from lightning tends to travel over the surface of the body causing burns and may cause respiratory arrest.
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Point of Entry

Macroshock Current flowing across intact skin and through the body. Current traveling from arm to arm, or between an arm and a foot, is likely to traverse the heart, and so is much more dangerous than current traveling between a leg and the ground.

Microshock Direct current path to the heart tissue

Answer 4

Voltage does not kill you, it's the Amperage that kills you. It only takes 6 tenths of an amp to have you pushing up daiseys. The way that you get amps is from whatever you have plugged into the outlet. A fluorescent light draws about 1.5 amps a drill draws about 10amps, this all considering on the size of the drill and light of course.

Answer 5

Amperage kills...1 volt will kill you at 200 amps...that's why house circuits are limited to 15 or 20 amps. For instance a car ignition runs at 40,000 volts but it doesn't kill because it is only being pushed at 5 or 6 amps.

High tension power lines kill because they have both...50,000 volts or more being pushed a long distance by a high amperage.

Lightning kills the same way...lots of volts at super high amperage.

Answer 6

120 volt can do it, even if it's dry. Factors are your heart, your position, and your age. You should be thrown clear, attitude is important as well as the amps, you don't want to get involved with much more than 10 amps, but don't stake your life on it.

Answer 7

Voltage doesn't kill you, its the ampacity. I =P/E 120 volts will kill you under the right conditions, it only takes 3 milliamps to kill you.

Answer 8

I think 110 can kill you even out of water if you get stuck with it going through you.Think it can cause irregular heart beats.

Answer 9

Voltage does nothing its all the ampage. But I do not have an answer but I do know that volts do not kill its the ampage in all cases.

Answer 10

220 can probably kill you i have been shocked with 110 and it hurt pretty bad...