It’s not the volts that count... it’s the amps.
I was shocked as a teen with 75,000 volts (very briefly) when I was tired of being forced to mowing the lawn... and peed on the mower engine (read, spark plug) (while it was still running)! <- duh!! It was a stupid mistake (which I learned much from >.< ).. but it did teach me something! (still haven’t figured out what yet, besides don’t pee on a spark plug!), but, it did hurt, and I was still able to produce babies ;)
Also, tasers are 50,000 volts! It’s the amps I tell ya!
MJ
And I thought I got a bad shock when I tried to turn off the lawn mower by removing the wire from the spark plug with my hand. Now I see it could have been worse!
Yup, it’s the Amps. My high school electronics teacher was fond of saying half an Amp will kill you. At high enough voltage one can dissipate a lot of energy without reaching that lethal current level (but it can still do serious damage).
And he had some experience years ago while tending the baloney at a high school football game. During the game the field lighting started malfunctioning, lamps going bright and exploding. This was early 1970s tech, just great big tungsten lights if I remember right.
He went to the switch panel to cut off the power and it was hot. He couldn’t let go and the current was going through his whole body to the ground for some time. Eventually others on the site were able to beat him away from the panel with a piece of dry lumber after trying a lot of different things. Some of the other guys had shocks and burns from trying to rescue him, but Joe Simon got the worst of it.
First thought to be dead, he was resuscitated with CPR, and was hospitalized for months with broken bones, internal and external burns, and very badly burned feet, but he recovered with everything except part of one foot, and he had a slight tremor that never seemed to quit. He kept the shoes he wore that night on display at class, the soles and the toe area of the uppers were completely gone.
Apparently, the neutral conductor in the main power line opened, allowing the full power line voltage (he said the full 10KV, IIRC) to reach the panel, which did not have a good enough ground to sink the current and blow a line fuse.
So remember, if you do it yourself at home like I do, the most important connections are ground and neutral. And if you want to bust into somebody's shop to steal copper so you can buy some crank, there really isn't a safe wire to cut first.