Certainly in my household the electrolyte content of the rug is an unknown, unquantified contribution to the uncertainty of any electrical phenomenon.
> From: "Chris Maxwell" <chris.maxw...@nettest.com> > Date: Fri, 3 Dec 2004 09:42:04 -0500 > To: "Ken Javor" <ken.ja...@emccompliance.com>, "John Woodgate" > <j...@jmwa.demon.co.uk>, <emc-p...@ieee.org> > Subject: RE: Is one-handed electrical shock possible? > > A little snip from Ken Javor's message: > ]]]]]]]]]]] SNIP ]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]] > Okay, let's grant a conductive pea soup fog within a millimeter or so of > a human body. I am standing on a rug, over a pad, attached to a wood > sub-floor. I grab a hot wire and get buzzed. Where is the current > going after it leaves my body? > ]]]]]]]]]]]] END SNIP ]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]] > > Do you have a dog in your house? Perhaps there was some "electrolyte" > in the rug :-) > > On a more serious note. The rug and pad could be full of holes. Yes > they are insulators; but not solid. The wood will have a moisture > content in equilibrium with the ambient air. What is the conductivity > of dust which is everywhere? What was the relative humidity at the > time? Were you sweating? Were your shoes damp? > > Some people like to work on circuits live because they say that it makes > them more careful by always assuming the wire is dangerous. > > One reply mentioned that he knows an electrician that says it's no > problem working on live 220 as long as you wear rubber shoes and keep > one hand in your pocket. Two terms come to mind for me... Hubris and > Adrenaline Junkie :-) > > Does this person always keep that hand in his pocket? He must be an > amazing person to be able to hold an outlet and turn the terminal screws > with the screwdriver in the same hand. Does this person never sweat? > Does this person always make sure that his boots are dry? Does he make > sure that none of his buddies drink coffee or soda or any other kind of > liquids within spilling distance? > > One handed shocks are possible. Every situation is different. Once you > put your hand on a live conductor, you now make yourself part of a > current divider. Engineers like to sit around and calculate the stray > capacitance of this and the impedance of that and hypothesize about the > salt content of the human body. I'm an engineer; and I like those ideas > as mathematical excercises. But as an engineer, I appreciate that math > is only a model for the real world. I also appreciate the mathematical > fact that I have only 1 life. I don't have time to calculate the > surface resistivity of the dust on my floors. So, when it comes to real > life, I like to keep it simple...Turn it off, tag it out, lock it out. > Live to calculate the surface resistivity of dust and the stray > capacitance of the human body tomorrow :-) > > Chris Maxwell > Nettest > > > This message is from the IEEE Product Safety Engineering Society emc-pstc discussion list. Website: http://www.ieee-pses.org/ To post a message to the list, send your e-mail to emc-p...@ieee.org Instructions: http://listserv.ieee.org/listserv/request/user-guide.html List rules: http://www.ieee-pses.org/listrules.html For help, send mail to the list administrators: Ron Pickard: emc-p...@hypercom.com Scott Douglas emcp...@ptcnh.net For policy questions, send mail to: Richard Nute: ri...@ieee.org Jim Bacher: j.bac...@ieee.org All emc-pstc postings are archived and searchable on the web at: http://www.ieeecommunities.org/emc-pstc
