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Old August 24th 04, 10:44 PM
James Horn
 
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While not low voltage, I remember reading in the '60s in Scientific
American an article which mentioned how many milliamps of current was
enough to be felt / dangerous / deadly, etc. It mentioned that
substantially larger currents could sometimes even be safer as they could
cause involuntary muscle contractions which would interrupt the current
flow.

The example given was of a worker at a high-rise construction site in New
York who was changing out of his work clothes at the end of his shift in a
temporary shack that also housed the site electrical power connections.
While doffing his trousers he accidentally backed into a high voltage
panel. An estimated 60 amperes passed from one buttock to the other
through muscles that immediately straightened, propelling him through the
shack and its door and into two lanes of road traffic which immediately
stopped.

Because the current didn't pass through any vital organs, he only
sustained surface burns and various bruises and scrapes though the
electrical panel manufacturer's logo is now mirror-image tattooed to his
behind.

I've *gotta* find the source of all this...

Jim Horn, WB9SYN/6