James Sullivan wrote:
> Hi! > > Seem to me that you're both right. > > Current and voltage are interdependent. At a given resistance, the > amount of current that will flow is dependent on the voltage. You > can't have one without the other. Keep in mind, too, that your body > functions on microvoltages and microcurrents, so it wouldn't take much > of either to mess you up. > > Later! > List, Please forgive me if I have not made it clear that I am not attacking anyone. Electricity does not care who is right. It does not care who is a novice or who basically gets the drift. It will behave as it will behave. It is not a subject of opinion where everyone gets to find common ground and go home feeling good. There should be no feelings involved at all. Pointing out how electricity works is not an attack on anyone. This line of discussion was started after a well meaning warning to be careful of a 100v power supply. The warning is in order, especially since the person to whom it was directed seemed, according to previous posts, to have some questions as to how electricity works. I could be wrong about this, but the way his posts were written made me ass-u-me so. However, a person with some question about how electricity works needs to get very precise information for safety. Even experienced electricians tend to talk volts when discussing safety, although in the field they will be very aware of what kind of amperage a circuit can put out, and judge the danger of the system according to the amperage available. I have over 20 years in the field, and have been in the position to train many a person on the safety aspects of electricity. Rule number one: amperage kills. From a 48 volt system, a 4800 volt system, to a 50000 volt system, the voltage will not kill or injure, it is how much current that goes through you that matters. Anyone in my employ who does not understand that does not stay in my employ. Period. Safety matters. If I cannot wipe the idea out of someone's head that lower voltages are less dangerous, I cannot keep him around. All power supplies are dangerous, more dangerous as the amps available goes up. Voltage of the power supply matters less. I can give anyone a very serious blast with 24 volts, and I can also hold onto a 12000 volt line without a shock. Its the amps that get ya. Yes, as mentioned by James above, there is a relationship between voltage, resistance, and current. But that is not the point immediately at hand. And neither is this a discussion on how many volts a neuron operates on. The point I was trying to make is when a person needs info on electricity, the info needs to be as correct as possible. The idea of respecting a higher voltage supply more than the lower voltage supply is exactly the thinking that gets people injured. That is exactly why most electrical mishaps occur with voltages at or below 120v, respect for the supply lessens as the voltage rating drops. So as a safety warning to all out there who do not have a good understanding of basic electricity: Respect all power supplies. If your respect for a power supply goes up as the voltage rating goes up, you are in danger of having less respect for lower voltage supplies, which is when accidents happen. Base your estimation of the safety of the system on how much current can flow through you, and for how long that current can be maintained, in case of an accident. (I have a 40 volt power supply capable of momentary 600 amps and continuous 200 amps. This, under the right circumstances, can ruin your day much more completely than a 12000 volt electric fencer.) If you do not understand that amperage does the damage, get out of the experimentation business. If you want to be able to get a feel for the potential for danger in a system, study the volts, resistance, current relationship (as mentioned by James above ) for starters. And don't assume the higher the voltage rating the more amps it can push through you. A higher voltage system may simply not have the current available to push much through you, and a lower voltage system, which has never shocked you, may have lots of current available via a large transformer and a capacitor bank, and may blast the neighbor's kid who is running around hot a sweaty, full of salt from eating salt and vinegar potato chips all day with salt and grease still on his hands [the kid is a LOT more conductive than you probably are]. Now his Mom is pissed. Mind the amps. Jim -- The silver-list is a moderated forum for discussion of colloidal silver. To join or quit silver-list or silver-digest send an e-mail message to: silver-list-requ...@eskimo.com -or- silver-digest-requ...@eskimo.com with the word subscribe or unsubscribe in the SUBJECT line. To post, address your message to: silver-list@eskimo.com List maintainer: Mike Devour <mdev...@id.net>
