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April 20th 04, 04:02 AM

(Steve Robeson K4CAP) wrote in
:

Subject: Are RF safety questions too hard for the proposed new
Novice exam? From: Alun
Date: 4/19/2004 7:35 PM Central Standard Time
Message-id:

The current kills you, but it takes volts to jump the gap, thousands of
them. I have a little L-shaped scar on my right index finger from 10kV
that I didn't touch. I'm an EE amongst other things, and I assume you
are a physician?? If you say it doesn't matter which hand it is, then I
beleive you, as it sounds like you know. I've never worked with power
transmission or distribution, only with electronics, so that limits the
current quite a bit (but not necessarily the volts)!

Nope...Not an M.D....An ER/Trauma Nurse with 15 years of EMS behind
that.
But it only took one electrocution to make me a believer. The one
victim in particular was in a trench along a runway installing new
lights...Somehow his feet came into contact with buried power lines
that the work crew was unaware were there.

Typical paddle application for defibrillation is to the left chest
wall
and upper midline sternum. The placement of the paddles in combination
with the delivered current attempts to repolarize the the irratically
firing SA node causing ventricular fibrillation. (That's the "HE'S IN
VEE-FIB" you hear on countless episodes of "E.R." and "Third Watch".)

I know the basic theory. It was explained to me by a scientist from the UK
Dept of Health. We tested automatic defibrillators for him to try to
trigger them with various types of electrical interference. We discharged
them into electric fire elements, though, not into people!

Congrats on being an EE. Does it make you immune to
electrocution?

No

Does
my NOT being an M.D. in any way diminish the fact that sufficient
current sustained by adequate voltage can be fatal regardless of how or
where it's applied to human tissue?

No

73

Steve, K4YZ

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