speaking of electrocutions...

[Tulsa]

That would require my leg and not my hand as the theory was pointed out, don't use the hand it will involuntarily grab on and the leg would just get pulled away. Unless the idiot had really long leg hair that didn't singe in the process and wrapped around the computer case and held his leg in place.

[alstonj1]

OK I'm game Tulsa soak your leg and put it on the power supply same difference should be fun either way ...although you could use the back of your hand nothing to grab that way ...the flaw in your logic is the parallelization is what makes it impossible to move not the grabbing of your fingers !!!

heres a url that might help you out in figuring if you wanna try it . notice no where does it state you must come in contact with your fingers to grab it .the current contracts the muscle and paralyzes you thus the reason not to try to save someone thats being shocked by any means of touch be it grabbing them or kicking them same difference the contact is whats gonna kill you ...:

http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu...ric/shock.html

[new in town]

From: Martin Smith 1/04/2006 1235 PM
Subject: re: Electrocution
>>
However, you can absorb large amounts of voltage even 10,000 Volts.
>>

This isn't really correct and is why this topic is so confused in so many people's minds.

To die you need a certain amount of current to flow through your heart/brain to cause damage/stop activity etc.

Let's concentrate on the heart. You need only milli amps of current to cause death - it is possible to cause death with around 10mA, 100mA means almost

certain death.

Now V=IR ALWAYS holds.

You cannot put a voltage of 1V across a load of 1 ohm and get anything other than 1 amp.

So given the voltage whatever the resistance is defines the current.

What this means is that 10 000 volts is ALWAYS more dangerous than 10 volts.

The severe confusion comes in when you have an "device" that has a nominal voltage of something large (like 10 000v) but is unable to provide anything other than a tiny current. A spark of static electricity is an oft sited example.

What happens here is that when such a potential is put across a load such that the max possible current is exceed, the supply potential collapses. In effect you don't have 10 000v anymore.

The exact mechanism for this depends on the device. It may be due to output resistance, it may be due to the fact that there was just very very few charged particles at that potential, so the current just doesn't last a significant amount of time (common static spark is an example here).

SO whilst it is pedantry correct to say it is the current that kills, it is usually used in an incorrect manner.

You need enough V to push enough moving particles to kill you.

take away either and you don't die.

MS

http://www2b.abc.net.au/science/k2/s...ic2181404.shtm

My two cents...:burnout:

The major danger is a shock path across the heart or brain. A 1 1/2 volt D cell battery with two wires placed just right across your heart on the chest can stop it if conditions are right being body resistance, body electrolyte levels, sweat, etc.

When I worked on aircraft avionics boxes in the NAVY and had to probe circuits to get test readings, we were taught to always keep one hand behind your back so as to not complete a path to ground from hand to hand EG across your chest which would damage the heart.

Current follows the path of least resistance. If you were barefoot and touched a live wire with your right hand the current would flow down the right side of your body.

Even if you were shocked this way, if the current was high enough it could still affect your heart.

AC voltage / current is more dangerous than DC voltage / current. Household 120 VAC is at 60 cycles. It is that 60 cycles that can cause your muscles to GRAB and hold a live circuit.

An example of this is the shock therapy chiropractors use for back pain. It causes the muscles to spasm while it is in use.

The avionics I repaired in the NAVY used 400 cycles. Much higher and much more dangerous if you got a shock.

We had long insulated fiberglass rods with a hook on the end to pull someone off of a live circuit. At 400 cycles, if you tried to pull a person off by hand you would just wind up latching on and fry also.

Look at "Old Sparky" the electric chair. How did the current flow? From the top of the head (brain), down through the chest (heart), and grounded out by wires connected to the feet.

A wet sponge was placed on top of the shaved head to aid in less resistance and more current flow through the body.

[musky]

Just my 2 cebts worth. Jeff is correct with his comments, I just think that this guy's upper body would need to be grounded somehow for the shock to kill him. The current would need to pass through his heart. It does not need to be much to put the heart into fibulation or stop it altogether. The story says he was bleeding from the nose. Now that leads me to believe lightening may be involved. I just can't see how the current in a PC power supply could cause nose bleeding unles he was wearing sweety headphones.

[alstonj1]

the key to this is the conditions in which it happened his leg was sweaty and the duration he was being shocked as the url states your bodies resistance is much lower when wet or sweaty and the current over the body for an extended period of time(more than 1 second) will kill you . as for what he might have been touching who knows he might have been leaning back in a chair drinking a beer with his foot on the power supply and and his head against the fridge watching porn ,that information isnt given .the question is is it plausable and the answer is you can bet your life on it ...any thing over 60 milli amp when wet can kill you !!!

[logicprobe]

In my professional electronics instructor (retired) opinion...

1.) The man had his computer case open... which does little or nothing to help with cooling. It actually prevents a good path of airflow. Dumb.

2.) Instead of having his cover on the computer, he decided to put his leg there... his SWEATY leg... Dumb^2.

3.) Death by electricity requires a current through the brain or heart.

4.) The heart is not in the leg.

5.) Therefore, it must have been current to the brain (ALSO take note of the bleeding nose).

6.) Since the brain is not IN the leg... that leaves one possible conclusion. His brain had to be in close proximity to his leg.

*** FINAL CONCLUSION... computer cover off... sweaty leg in computer... shock on leg causes death by electrical brain trauma... yes, folks... the brain WAS close, because this man MUST have had his head up his ass.

[Tulsa]

[drcrippen324]

*** FINAL CONCLUSION... computer cover off... sweaty leg in computer... shock on leg causes death by electrical brain trauma... yes, folks... the brain WAS close, because this man MUST have had his head up his ass.

or his brain in his shorts

[new in town]

or his brain in his shorts

He might have had a brain fart.. That would explain the blood in the nose...