How much of a difference does an amp and volt make
[From: ] [author: ] [Date: 12-01-27] [Hit: ]
like touching a wire with your finger. But if you are in the bathtub, the contat area can be huge, greatly lowering the resistance and allowing a lower voltage to be dangerous. Also if the wire penetrates the skin, it takes very little voltage to stop the heart.......
*But* the quality of the connection to the circuit, the gauge of the wiring, and the capacity of the battery (if the power source is a battery) will all factor into the amount of damage done. If your body makes a better circuit, resistance will be lower, so current will be higher for a given voltage source. Higher current means higher power, so more damage is done. This is the only way in which "amps kill" might be accurate.
-
When they speak of danger, they are referring to the effect of electricity on the human body. The heart can only tolerate a certain amount of current flowing thru it before it is destabilized. So the current is the critical factor, but to make that much current flow is a function of both voltage and resistance. Higher voltages can make that current flow even with a very high resistance connection, like touching a wire with your finger. But if you are in the bathtub, the contat area can be huge, greatly lowering the resistance and allowing a lower voltage to be dangerous. Also if the wire penetrates the skin, it takes very little voltage to stop the heart.
-
Amps is like the speed of the electricity and volts is like the electricity's resistance to being able to be slowed down. For things like lighting a bulb or shocking a person amps or electricity speed is what makes the effect more intense, but without voltage a light bulb may create to much resistance to the flow of electricity and the electricity will slow down and be less intense. Basically you need both in any effective circuit.
-
Actually I like the answer given by Stephen; it is correct and shows through knowledge of the topic.
But I thought a short summary might be usefull.
Having worked with electronics for ages I can say this; a small change in voltage isn't very serious, however even one amp of current is quite a lot (so small current changes are more serious too).
Where safety is concerned another important factor is weather the source is DC as in your example or something like RF (radio frequency). The body reacts differently to those.
If you want further information try: the ARRL website, or youtube Afrotechmods videos.
keywords: and,an,of,volt,make,How,much,does,amp,difference,How much of a difference does an amp and volt make
