Voltage levels of 500 to 1000 volts tend to cause internal burns due to the large energy (which is proportional to the duration multiplied by the square of the voltage divided by resistance) available from the source. Damage due to current is through tissue heating and/or electroporation injury.
The higher the current and voltage associated with AC or DC, the greater the electrical damage will be. High-voltage current (greater than 500 V to 1000 V) typically will result in deep burns, while low-voltage current (110 V to 120 V) is more likely to result in tetany.
High Distribution - 1000 to 4160 volts. Medium Distribution - 50 to 1000 volts. Low Distribution - 0 to 49 volts.
The human body feels a shock when the voltage is higher than about 3,500 volts. Walking over a carpet can generate 35,000 volts. The Electrostatic Discharge (ESD) from this voltage can cause pain.
At 600 volts, the current through the body may be as great as 4 amps, causing damage to internal organs, such as the heart. High voltages also produce burns. In addition, internal blood vessels may clot. Nerves in the area of the contact point may be damaged.
You could be killed if you touched the 7KV source with one hand and ground with the other. After that, one might wonder if a 7000-volt electric fence will kill you. It will hurt for about 10 minutes, but it won't debilitate them, leave a burn mark, or kill them.
A good rule of thumb is that when a shock is at or above 2,700 volts, it often results in death or severe injury. At over 11,000 volts, the victim will usually pass away. A good rule of thumb is that when a shock is at or above 2,700 volts, the person often dies or experiences severe injury.
Voltage levels of 500 to 1000 volts tend to cause internal burns due to the large energy (which is proportional to the duration multiplied by the square of the voltage divided by resistance) available from the source. Damage due to current is through tissue heating and/or electroporation injury.
12V isn't a shock hazard, but it IS a burn hazard.
Even without a short circuit, if you make or break an electrical connection that has a lot of current going through it, the point at which the connection is made can get very hot very quickly and can burn your fingers.
We don't really feel a voltage, we feel a current (not "amperage"). Because a battery can be approximated by a voltage source, the current that pass through the body can be calculated by Ohm's law, I=U/R, where U is the voltage from the battery and R is the skin resistance.
An electrical current at 1,000 volts is no more deadly than a current at 100 volts. But tiny changes in a current's amperage can mean the difference between life and death when a person receives an electrical shock.
Once the skin is punctured, the lowered resistance results in massive current flow. Ohm's law is used to demonstrate the action. At 1,000 volts, Current = Volts/Ohms = 1,000/500 = 2 Amps which can cause cardiac arrest and serious damage to internal organs.
Dr. Michael S. Morse, a professor of electrical engineering at the University of San Diego, explains that while 10,000 volts can be life threatening in certain circumstances, it's possible for something to have 10,000 volts behind it and be relatively harmless.
If you touch 1000 volts then a current of about one ampere will pass through you. The time the current passes can be very small so that it is harmless like in case of static electricity.
The TASER energy weapons use a peak voltage of 50,000 volts so that the electrons can be propelled across a 2 inch air gap. The high voltage causes electrons to “jump the gap,” a process that “ionizes” the air gap in what appears to the user as a bright arc.
"If a healthy person receives a shock of 5,000 volts, they may die on the spot. "In the case of this frozen patient, the task seemed impossible." By comparison in the use of execution by electrocution, a jolt of 2,000 volts is typically used, destroying the brain, followed by shocks with a lessor voltage.
A static electricity shock can be 20,000 volts or more, but at extremely low current and for an extremely short duration: Harmless. A 9V battery is at an insufficient voltage to drive a dangerous level of current through the body: Harmless.
Remember, it has been suggested a current of only 17 milliamps may induce ventricular (heart) fibrillation. With a hand-to-hand resistance of 1000 Ω, it would only take 17 volts to create this dangerous condition.
It would be a loud zap, burn and hiss or even explosion as the body chars until brittle and break apart. Please do not try it, though you'll have to find a way for the million volts not to literally jump across the air and likely killing whoever is handling the setup before they apply it to the victim.
From around 100mA it could be fatal. Bear in mind though, there are many variables to consider such as if the person is wet or dry, if the shock is applied directly across the heart, if they are wearing clothes or insulating footwear, even if their skin is dry and thick or clammy and thin?
120v/100,000Ω=0.0012 amperes which equals 1.2mA. A person may feel a slight tingling sensation. The severity of shock from a given source will depend upon its path through your body.
People have stopped breathing when shocked with currents from voltages as low as 49 volts. Usually, it takes about 30 mA of current to cause respiratory paralysis. Currents greater than 75 mA cause ventricular fibrillation (very rapid, ineffective heartbeat).
7000 volts of electricity can be extremely dangerous and potentially deadly to humans. The effects of 7000 volts on the human body can vary depending on the circumstances and the amount of current that flows through the body.
It's The Current That Kills
The real measure of shock's intensity lies in the amount of current (amperes) forced though the body, and not the voltage.
A typical lightning flash is about 300 million Volts and about 30,000 Amps. In comparison, household current is 120 Volts and 15 Amps.