Electric Shock?

Question

I've always been scared of this notion "Electric Shock"..Whenever I go to a lab or visit any place where there is some water and wires around, I get too scared to go near it or to even touch anything. Can you please explain how does this work. I mean how is this electric shock generated and how I am prone to get attacked by it. I so want to remove this myth out of my mind

Answer 1

The less you know about a danger, the more dangerous it is. That appears to be the root of your fear. Electricity is dangerous, but the more you know about it, the less likely it is you'll make a mistake, and less afraid you'll likely be.

Water and electricity don't mix. Due to it's dissolved ions, tap water is an electrical conductor. If it becomes charged by faulty wiring somewhere, you can receive a shock by touching it, or any metal that is in contact with it. Furthermore, wet skin is substantially less resistive to the passage of current than dry skin, so the current passing through your body for a given voltage can be very much higher - lethal, in fact, for 110 AC.
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Answer 2

Electric shock is is not only generated if there is a loose contact in the wires & we touch it with a good conductor of electricity but also when lightning is produced.

Answer 3

electricity as you know is the movement of electrons.
these electrons tend to take the easiest (shortest and least resistive) pathway into the earth (viz a pool of both charges for neutralising themselves).
first of all, for an electric shock, the inner core of the wire (copper, aluminium) should come in direct or conductive contact with your body and you should be one of the easiest pathway providing connection to the earth for you to get a bad shock.
Sometimes even when one touches a dangerously open wire may not receive a bad shock bcoz of any insulation he is wearing or bcoz there is a better route for the current to reach ground.(as in the case when it is touching the ground directly.)

Answer 4

when u touch live wire, and ur body touches the earth so path for current flowing is completed and these current can damage ur nurves system, as the signal given by brain to muscle is in form of electrical signal of mili volt so these electric current disturb this system and due to this disturbance muscle acts randomlly causing sock.
more blood is conductor of electicity and due to current passes through it temperature of blood goes to increase and its result in death.
to prevent electrical sock dont touch any live electrical part