i'm just curious bout the value of current that can kill us
2006-09-08 05:18:38 · 7 answers · asked by jinxy_inc 1 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Engineering
I think minimum would be zero.
I'm not really sure a human (or anything) can absorb current.
Current is the flow of charge, so if you're absorbing it doesn't like much of anything is flowing.
you start to feel it at 10 mA.
50-100 mA can affect the heart ... around 100 mA to kill
actually when you get up around 1000 mA you have a good chance of surviving ... just you'll be really charred and burnt.
2006-09-08 08:54:47 · answer #1 · answered by cw 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The minimum current a person can feel is around 0.5mA (that is 5 one-thousenths of an Ampere) at 60Hz, or 2mA at DC (0Hz). Between 6 to 10mA travelling through the body can cause muscle contractions strong enough to make it so a person can't "let go" of what they are holding. If you get over 20mA flowing, sustained, a person can be put in a position where they cannot breath, but if the current is removed, they should be able to resume breathing again. 20mA through the heart (please bare in mind this could mean there is a lot higher current travelling through other parts of the body) can mess up your heart's rhythm and send it into ventricular fibrillation. This could kill a person as this condition will not necesariluy stop once the current is removed. The wierd thing is that a much higher current through the heart, say 5A, would cause a lot of pain and likely skin burns, but if the current is removed, the heart would likely be ok (if it was a short duration). Currents higher than 10A will cause burns; if they pass through your brain, it would most likely result in severe damage or death. All in all, it's not good, so don't try it at home.
How much current will actually pass through a person is really hard to calculate. Current is a function of the voltage and the resistance, and the resistance of a person varies with many things. Also, the path it will take depends on the paths of least resistance between the point of entry and the point it is trying to get too (usually ground). Anyway...
2006-09-08 13:06:06 · answer #2 · answered by JCS 1 · 1⤊ 0⤋
As far as I remember a current of the order of 40-50 milliamp must pass through the body to kill a human being. However it varies from person to person and depends on the state of the body..
An interesting supplementary question would be how this magnitude was found out. I read somewhere that the guinea pigs were the temporary occupants of the electric chair and the prescribed current was 100 milliamp to ensure no miss - a morbid thought indeed.
2006-09-08 05:36:35 · answer #3 · answered by rabi k 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Electrical current? The minimum is none at all.
2006-09-08 05:21:02 · answer #4 · answered by Clarkie 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Suspicible to individual human electical resistance.
2006-09-08 05:21:49 · answer #5 · answered by flubberghasted 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
at around 75 to 80mA dc current or 25mA AC current at 50HZ ,a person feel breathing problems and if person is not strong enough he will definately die.
2006-09-08 05:37:27 · answer #6 · answered by HAS 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I remember from EE class thatit is 50mA
2006-09-08 05:20:40 · answer #7 · answered by James 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋