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"Electric Shock, Unsafe at any Voltage"

From: The Handbook for Electronic Safety Procedures ISBN 0-8306-1420-6 TAB Books Chapter #2 "Electric Shock, Unsafe at any Voltage" Page 10: Fatalities have occurred at voltages as low as 24 volts AC, which shows that almost no volatge can be considered safe if adverse circumstances are present (if, for example, you are sweating profusely or you are standing in water). Just how badly you are affected by an electric shock depends on the following primary factors: 1) the amount of current measured in milliamperes that flows through the body 2) The path that the current takes from entry to exit from your body 3) The time, measured in milliseconds, you are in the circuit. The resistance may vary from 300 ohms to 100,000 phms, depending on the thickness of your callouses, if any, amount of perspiration, your age, the area of electrical contact, and the path the current takes through your body. If the skin is broken or cut, the resistance may be as low as 300 ohms. Although resisatnce varies from moment to moment and from person to person, at 500 ohms you cannot safely touch more than 9 volts. As resistance decreases, the current increases. Between 1 and 6 mA you may recieve just a 'tingle'. Based on experiments performed by Charles F. Dalziel at the University of California at Berkeley.... "the safe let-go currents are now considered to be 9 ma for men and 6 ma for women." Let-go level means a level where anyone could let go of a shock and despite the tingling of the shock. The effect of severity of the shock depends also on the current's path through your body.

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