Electric shock Working around electricity is dangerous; there is nothing that we

Question

Electric shock Working around electricity is dangerous; there is nothing that we can sense that warns of the danger but the probability for an electric shock is always present. An electric current passing through the body can cause burns through ohmic (RI^2 heating. (For example, tendons attach muscle to bone and are relatively deep inside the body Their relatively high resistance leads to significant ohmic heating when current passes through those regions of the body, causing severe bums to occur at these locations. Unlike surface bums, these deep bums are very difficult to treat, do not heal well because air cannot get to them properly, and arc very susceptible to infection.) If an electric current passes through the heart or brain the current can cause them to work improperly. In short, electricity, especially household electricity, can cause severe bodily harm and death. The effect of electric current passing through a body can be summarized by the following table: The amount of current that passes throu h some portion of the body depends on two things: the potential difference across the body, and the effective resistance of the intervening body parts. Living tissue typically has a low resistance, while bone, tendons, and the outer layer of skin (when dry) have a relatively high resistance When the skin is dry. the effective resistance between two points across the body is of order 10^6 - 10^6 Ohms. When the outer skin is wet. the effective total resistance can drop to less than 1 kOhms. Estimate the electric current passing through your body if you accidentally touch a live 120-V wire while standing on the ground (which has an electric potential - OX if a. Your hand is dry. b. Your hand is damp.

Explanation / Answer

ELECTRIC current=voltage difference/resistance

a)120-0/106=1.2X10-4A

b)120/600(approx)=0.2A

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