Electric Shock

#12

Joined Nov 30, 2010
18,224
I suspect the opposite is true - skin effect only comes in at high frequencies (above ~1MHz). I've yet to see a power system reach into this frequency range.

House wiring is mostly safe because you do have low voltage parts of the sine wave where you can pull away and the frequency is slow.
My experience has been that 16KHz @750VRMS punches holes in your skin, but it's easy to get away from. You just get a dotted line of black holes that indicate how fast you were moving.:rolleyes:

The story of 120VAC, 60Hz is different. I got connected from from right hand to left arm. Apparently it knocked out the circuit breakers in my brain. As the breakers reset, I become aware. I tried to make a sound but my chest was paralyzed. Then I realized I could move my legs, so I kicked. That got me loose.

Point is, the affected area, where current density is sufficient, will not respond to brain commands. Most odd is the fact that my brain could get a message to my legs in a cable that was right behind the current path. So, I deny the idea that the slow frequency and zero crossing nature allows time to respond.

Second most odd is why I didn't punch out the guy that left the live wires sticking out and told me to drill a hole through the other side of the iron pipe that the electrical box was mounted on. 1) He was my boss. 2) He was way bigger than I was.:mad:
 
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