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Apple investigating iPhone 5 user death by electrocution
FoxNews.com | July 15, 2013 | FoxNews.com

Posted on 07/15/2013 9:40:56 AM PDT by topher

Apple said Monday it would investigate claims that a Chinese woman was killed by an electric shock she received when answering a call while the device was charging.

The claim quickly drew attention after a woman in the western region of Xinjiang wrote about the death of her 23-year-old sister Ma Ailun on China's popular microblog service Sina Weibo.

"We will fully investigate and cooperate with authorities in this matter," said Apple's Beijing-based spokeswoman Carolyn Wu, offering condolences to the family.


TOPICS: Business/Economy; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: china; electrocution; iphone; vanity
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Is China a 110 Volt or 220 Volt Country? Or does it have a different standard for standard electric outlets.

Basically, Europe is 220 Volt versus the US 110 Volt.

1 posted on 07/15/2013 9:40:56 AM PDT by topher
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To: topher

surge protection problem with IPHONE [while charging]?


2 posted on 07/15/2013 9:41:51 AM PDT by topher (Traditional values -- especially family values -- which have been proven over time.)
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To: topher

Sherm be skeptical.

The itsy-bitsy wire of the charger seems to me unlikely to be capable of even carrying a lethal charge.


3 posted on 07/15/2013 9:42:18 AM PDT by Sherman Logan
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To: topher

Sounds like a nearby lightning strike to me.


4 posted on 07/15/2013 9:42:20 AM PDT by E. Pluribus Unum (Who knew that one day professional wrestling would be less fake than professional journalism?)
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To: topher

Maybe the censor in the Chinese govt didn’t like her comments or political persuasion. I wouldn’t put it past the Chicoms to remotely trigger something like this, in her phone.

Just saying, what a way to control your sheeple.


5 posted on 07/15/2013 9:44:32 AM PDT by George from New England (escaped CT in 2006, now living north of Tampa)
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To: topher

Smooth move.Apple secretly pays the family $50,000,they become the richest family in the country (who don’t work for the government) and everything is hushed up.


6 posted on 07/15/2013 9:45:08 AM PDT by Gay State Conservative (The Civil Servants Are No Longer Servants...Or Civil.)
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To: topher

Something smells very Obama-y about this.

Awaiting examination by folks other than MSM engineering flunkouts on this.


7 posted on 07/15/2013 9:45:41 AM PDT by Da Coyote
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To: topher

A quick search shows China to be a 220v country. Perhaps the transformer fried or maybe the ground was bad. She picks up the phone and provides a ground for the electrons.

Its not the volts that kill ya, its the amps. The amps and the burning charred flesh of your heart.


8 posted on 07/15/2013 9:46:12 AM PDT by driftdiver (I could eat it raw, but why do that when I have a fire.)
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To: Sherman Logan

You would be surprised at how small of a current it takes to cause your muscles to contract and make it impossible to move. IIRC it is less than 100 milliamps.


9 posted on 07/15/2013 9:46:28 AM PDT by Blood of Tyrants (Inside every liberal and WOD defender is a totalitarian screaming to get out.)
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To: topher

he electricity in China is generally 220V, 50HZ, AC (Hong Kong is 220V; Taiwan is 110V)


10 posted on 07/15/2013 9:46:31 AM PDT by thackney (life is fragile, handle with prayer)
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To: Sherman Logan

You obviously don’t know anything about electricity.


11 posted on 07/15/2013 9:49:03 AM PDT by stuck_in_new_orleans
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To: Sherman Logan

A conductor capable of carrying sufficient current to charge a phone battery can easily carry much more than enough current to kill. For an instant, it can carry many times its rated capacity before burning up. That instant is long enough to kill.


12 posted on 07/15/2013 9:49:48 AM PDT by Bob
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To: topher

China is a 220 Volt Country.


13 posted on 07/15/2013 9:50:49 AM PDT by catnipman (Cat Nipman: Vote Republican in 2012 and only be called racist one more time!)
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To: Bob

I will defer to what I assume is your greater expertise in this area.

Although it would not be at all difficult for your expertise to be greater than mine. :)


14 posted on 07/15/2013 9:51:29 AM PDT by Sherman Logan
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To: topher
Is China a 110 Volt or 220 Volt Country?

It shouldn't matter. The phone charges from a low-voltage DC, the kind you get on a USB cable.

The only way this could happen would be for the wall-wart to fail and pass 220VAC onto the charging cable. Not likely, but possible, I suppose.

So, it cannot be the phone's fault. It could be the charger's fault.

No mention of whether it's an Apple charger or some knock-off charger.

15 posted on 07/15/2013 9:52:12 AM PDT by Izzy Dunne (Hello, I'm a TAGLINE virus. Please help me spread by copying me into YOUR tag line.)
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To: driftdiver
Its not the volts that kill ya, its the amps.

Yes, but the voltage must be sufficient to overcome the skin's natural resistance. I think the maximum "safe" voltage is about 25 volts.

However, once you get above that threshold, only about 100 milliamps are required to disrupt the heart, if the electrical path is through your chest.

16 posted on 07/15/2013 9:53:17 AM PDT by justlurking (tagline removed, as demanded by Admin Moderator)
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To: Sherman Logan
The itsy-bitsy wire of the charger seems to me unlikely to be capable of even carrying a lethal charge.

It's not the voltage but the amperage that will kill you. If part of her body completed the circuit to ground, then the wire from the charging unit could be sufficiently robust to do the job.

17 posted on 07/15/2013 9:53:49 AM PDT by Bloody Sam Roberts (I will not comply.)
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To: Sherman Logan

The itsy-bitsy wire of the charger seems to me unlikely to be capable of even carrying a lethal charge.


A friend of mine makes his living as an electrician. He hooked up custom wiring for our homemade light bar for stage lighting. A total of 600 watts of lights, I believe. It uses cat-5 wiring for the different lights. I thought he was nuts but he pointed out that the higher the voltage, the thinner the wire for the same current. He showed me the math and applied it to the cat-5 wire thickness.

It works great.


18 posted on 07/15/2013 9:54:33 AM PDT by cuban leaf (Were doomed! Details at eleven.)
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To: Izzy Dunne
No mention of whether it's an Apple charger or some knock-off charger.

An article I read elsewhere says the woman's family claims it was an Apple charger. But, apparently there are even counterfeit Apple chargers.

19 posted on 07/15/2013 9:54:48 AM PDT by justlurking (tagline removed, as demanded by Admin Moderator)
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To: topher; a fool in paradise

First we learned that using Apple products causes homosexuality, now this! When and where will it end?


20 posted on 07/15/2013 9:55:06 AM PDT by Revolting cat! (Bad things are wrong! Ice cream is delicious!)
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