I was (I think...) almost killed in an above ground pool. We were attempting to drain the last of a 7000 gal. above ground pool with a small, fish tank type, pump. While I was making sure the small pump was submerged, he was connecting the extension cords. Niether of us were paying attention to the first connection steadily making its way into the inch or so of water still in the pool. JUST as it was about to touch the water I yelled, "ELECTRICITY, ELECTRICITY!" and ran on water to the plastic ladder (with metal frames). The plug was wet and I was thankfully (and only) in a state of shock.
So how much voltage DOES it take to kill a person in the water?
2007-06-11 18:08:58 · 11 answers · asked by Boobie la Bug 2 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Engineering
volts don't kill you, amperage does. in the scenario you describe, the electricity would probably have simply shorted out at the connection and blown the circuit breaker, but you were wise to get out of the water anyway. electricity coming from your home outlets is 115 volts nominal. the circuits provided in most homes are between 15 and 20 amps which can definitely kill you, certainly cause a good electrical burn. however, your circuit breakers are designed to blow when overloaded, so the best case is you get a really good shock and the circuit breaks before your dead, but again, always a good idea to be extra safe when dealing with house current.
2007-06-11 18:27:21 · answer #1 · answered by Wyatt 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Well, this question is kinda complex! most newer homes are equipped with surge protectors in the plugs. Now (unless rewired) a home socket will trip a breaker or blow a fuse before it gets bad enough to kill someone. I'm not really sure of how many volts it takes to kill someone. I think all circumstances are different.
2016-04-01 03:01:03 · answer #2 · answered by ? 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
amperage? everyone means current strength surly?
The point is, and house hold (110V, 220V, or 240V) won't kill you. why?
Because due to most laws in different countries there are things called circuit breakers or trip switches. Theses switches can 'sense' when there is a current leakage ie, someone or something is getting shocked and the current is leaking into the ground, this would cause the breaker to trip and the current would stop flowing.
What can kill u?
7mA of current can stop a heart from beating.
A high voltage and a current well under this like an electrical fence would just give you a huge shock.
2007-06-12 15:36:47 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Many people have such poor understanding of electricity. Whilst it is true that amperage is what kills, a relatively high voltage is necessary to travel through a poor conductor, such as the human body. UNLESS the electricity is applied across a large surface area. 10mA across the heart can kill. Do you think a 15/20amp breaker will trip? NO! There needs to be an RCD to do this.
Dropping a live end of an extension lead into will not trip a standard breaker (no RCD), but it will kill people.
2016-05-17 21:34:43 · answer #4 · answered by ? 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No it wouldnt have killed you...unless he just left the cord in there.
But it all depends on the amperage as well.
You can have a stun gun with 20,000 volts and few amps that cant kill anyone. You probably had a 110 volt current that usually wont kill you unless you cant let go of it. I've been hit with 110 plently of times...it's 220 and 440 that you have to watch out for like with dryer plugs and big a/c units.
2007-06-11 18:19:21 · answer #5 · answered by Alex M 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It is voltage difference that makes a current to pass through the heart that kills.. If the water itself is at some voltage and one is floating in it, nothing much would happen because no current can pass through the person.
On the other hand if one is in water, and grabs a live wire there can be major problems because in this case, the current has to pass to the water through the person only.
If the person already has some cardiac issues a fairly low votage (50 v) can give trouble.
2007-06-11 23:37:57 · answer #6 · answered by A.V.R. 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It is not the voltage that kills, it is the amperage. Just a couple of amps even at low voltage can cause cardiac arrest. The jolt can cause the heart to fibrillate and flutter. The result is a lack of oxygen exchange within the heart and lungs and then life ceases. It is actually much more likely to be killed by lower voltages because people tend to be more careless with stuff they can just move around.
2007-06-11 18:15:49 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
its the amps not the volts. ive got a 1,000,000 volt stun gun. it wont kill ya. but in water, your in a whole nother ball game.
2007-06-14 15:36:08 · answer #8 · answered by JoelGaddis 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
*800 volts of electricity—enough to stun or kill a person, even a horse.
*pl. visit::
http://ca.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20070516060552AAf4IF1
2007-06-11 18:33:39 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 4⤊ 0⤋
Two and a half volts, and a piece of cheddar cheese.
2007-06-11 18:12:02 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 4⤋