What kills Humans - Current or voltage?

Answer 1

Currently voltage.

Answer 2

current kills. the voltage (potential difference) is the force which pushes the current through a conductor and can be very very high with no current flowing (as examples static electricity in clouds and capacitors) current is the actual electron flow. small currents will kill even as low voltages if passed directly across the heart. However there must be a sufficiently high voltage to drive the current through the skin, which is a good electrical insulator. If however there is a very high voltage, the current will penetrate the skin and enter the body which, basically being a salt solution,conducts the electricity very well. So holding a both terminals of a circuit carrying a very small current but with a very high voltage is very unwise ;-)

Answer 3

Its a redundant question, because the two are liinearly related by Ohms law!

However, if it comes to a numbers game, the body is quite resistive so it takes a substantial voltage to drive enough current to do damage. But this is irrelevant if you are connected to a constant current source rather than a constant voltage source.

It is NOT the case that what matters is simply the power. It all depends where the current flows. For instance, a microamp in the right place will stop your heart. On the other hand you may sustain several amps through a limb for instance before the burns become life threatening.

Answer 4

The electrical power delivered by a transmission line is proportional to the product of its voltage relative to earth and the current. The power loss in the line is given by the product of the line resistance and the current squared, W = I2R. It follows that to transport a given amount of electrical energy over long distances as efficiently as possible it is necessary to do it at the lowest possible current and the highest possible voltage. However, the higher the voltage adopted, the further the transmission line must be kept from people and from the ground, the taller must be the pylons that carry the line, and the broader the right of way that the line occupies. This increases the capital cost of the line. Hence, as in all engineering problems, a compromise has to be sought between the rising capital costs as the voltage is increased and the rising running costs as the voltage is decreased. For a given power level there is a specific voltage that results in a minimum overall cost.

In the United Kingdom a range of specific voltages have been adopted to cover adequately various levels of power transmission. These include 11 kV, 33 kV, 66 kV, 132 kV, 275 kV, and 400 kV (1 kV, or kilovolt, is 1,000 volts).

Answer 5

It's current and to get current you need a voltage difference across different parts of the body.

i.e. you need voltage but it's the current that kills.

Two people touching the same voltage might get quite different currents flowing in their bodies depending upon their electrical resistance.

I seem to recall 50 mA through the heart is enough to kill most people. This is why electricians should keep one hand behind their back so that if they touch a live wire, the current goes down to their feet, not from hand to hand through the heart.

Answer 6

Current. Generally death from electricity occurs when too much current passes through the heart, causing it to stop. Under the right conditions, that much current can be generated by a relatively small voltage. The skin generally has a high resistance, but if that resistance is overcome, for example by having a large area of skin covered with salty water, a person can be killed by as little as 20 volts.

Answer 7

Current kills, but in order to push a sufficient current to kill someone you need enough voltage to overcome the internal resistance of the body. If the person has wet hands, there is less resistance, hence you need a lower voltage.

Answer 8

According ti EEE hand book it is like this. The killer current passing through the chest of 100 Milli amps to 200 ,will cause the heart to fibulae. Less that that u will hurt yourself. more will result in Burns. The voltage is the pressure to force the current through your body.Many things affect the skin resistance. Moisture can make a small voltage very dangerous.

Answer 9

It is actually current that kills people. Voltage is the force at which the electrons (Charge) flow around a circuit. Current is the rate that the electrons flow around a circuit. Current is measured in Amperes (A). 1 milliamp (0.001 Amperes) is enough to stop the heart from beating and cause cardiac arrest.

Answer 10

As voltage is a unit of measurement, I'd have to say current. It's like saying you killed somebody with a gram.