How much current goes through me when I touch 120VAC?

[Spork Schivago]

Re: How much current goes through me when I touch 120VAC?

A breaker doesn't provide current, it's meant to be able to withstand 30 amps of current (or whatever the breaker is rated at) if the rated amps are exceeded it trips the breaker which cuts off power (essentially becomes an open circuit at the breaker) as to prevent overheating if wire insulation and potentially causing a fire

So, if I were to grab on a hot and neutral wire from the wall, 120V AC and neutral, would that be equivalent to grabbing onto the two giant wires going into the breaker box / panel? The wires that normally come from the telephone pole (these I think actually go to a breaker box / panel outside the house and that one connects to the pole).

I was under the impression, if I touched those giant wires, I'd probably die. Are they just 120V lines? I'd test them with my multimeter but I've read if you test really high voltages with a multimeter that's not designed for extremely high voltages, the multimeter can explode. I want to make sure they're safe before I start probing a multimeter around in there.

[Spork Schivago]

Re: How much current goes through me when I touch 120VAC?

It was one of the many stupid things I've done in my life. I'm very hazy on the details, but I recall returning the unit to the customer and telling him that I found nothing wrong with it. :-)

Actually it wasn't a typical electronics-in-a-box fence controller. The device had a heavy base which contained the electronics, plus a long arm (no, it wasn't a cattle prod). The end of the arm contacted my forehead while I was working on the base. It sure woke me up, I can tell you. I don't think I suffered any lasting damage, but, as I said, I'm hazy on the details. :-)

Did you lose consciousness? When I got zapped in the head with electricity, I lost consciousness. I don't know if it was AC or DC.

[Spork Schivago]

Re: How much current goes through me when I touch 120VAC?

Intro:
https://youtu.be/tA9oBEHRLqQ

H/V, helicopters, and explosives:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x94BH9TUiHM

H/V, helicopters, and water:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lcjhjna9jZE

What could possibly go wrong?

I'm going to have to re-read through these posts. I'm currently watching the second video I think. I haven't started the first one yet. I don't understand why they're using the wand to make sure they're the same potential difference between the bird and the lines. That is freaking amazing though! That spark gap or whatever you want to call it is crazy! I bet the wand has something to do with that.

Kinda like how you ground yourself to a PC before working on it so you don't cause a spark when you touch something. I bet at 765,000 volts, that static electricity charge would kill you or something!

[desert-rat]

Re: How much current goes through me when I touch 120VAC?

It's not as simple as that. The resistance of the human body is not linear. It depends on several factors. One of budm's links explains it all.

I was being funny. I have grabbed a hold of energized terminals while in insulated shoes and not felt any thing. The trick is only use 1hand.

[stj]

Re: How much current goes through me when I touch 120VAC?

the cables coming into your house from the meter are your regular voltage, just high current.
how high? check the big fuse(s) around the meter - in Europe (230v) it would be 60-100A usually.

[stj]

Re: How much current goes through me when I touch 120VAC?

I bet at 765,000 volts, that static electricity charge would kill you or something!

i'v seen video's of people standing in the field under grid cables with a 6foot flourescent tube in their hand and it lights up full brightness!

there was also an incident where an enviromental group "planted" a whole field of tubes a foot or so in the ground and they all looked awsome after dark!!!

[desert-rat]

Re: How much current goes through me when I touch 120VAC?

Induced current,or something like that. I have walked under high voltage lines with like f96 t12 bulbs,and have them glow. Not harmful,but a neet effect.

[Spork Schivago]

Re: How much current goes through me when I touch 120VAC?

the cables coming into your house from the meter are your regular voltage, just high current.
how high? check the big fuse(s) around the meter - in Europe (230v) it would be 60-100A usually.

Right, here the cables coming in go into a breaker rated for 200 AMP. But that current doesn't change when it goes to the lines, right? I mean, if my body starts absorbing more than 30-amp, let's say, I'll trip a 30-amp breaker. I'd probably be dead before it trip's I'd imagine....but my body generally won't absorb that much current...

If I were to touch those large lines, would I get more current through my body for some reason? Would I die? Or would it be just like touching one of the smaller 120V lines that's in the house?

[caphair]

Re: How much current goes through me when I touch 120VAC?

That's 200amp total. It's then split up into parallel circuits throughout the house (voltage stays the same, current gets divided up in a parallel circuit) and that's why there are different amp ratings per line ie 30amps

If you touched one of those lines before a parallel branch yes it's possible you could get all 200amps through your body.

[desert-rat]

Re: How much current goes through me when I touch 120VAC?

You won't get 200 amps going through some one , at 120 or 240v . You only need a few micro amps through the heart or brain to kill you tho.

[Spork Schivago]

Re: How much current goes through me when I touch 120VAC?

That's 200amp total. It's then split up into parallel circuits throughout the house (voltage stays the same, current gets divided up in a parallel circuit) and that's why there are different amp ratings per line ie 30amps

If you touched one of those lines before a parallel branch yes it's possible you could get all 200amps through your body.

From looking at the panel, I was mistakenly thinking of it as a series circuit, not a parallel circuit.

I thought I was starting to understand this. I thought because of the resistance in my body and the resistance of my skin, all that jazz, it wouldn't matter if I touched the large lines or the much smaller ones, I'd still get around the same amount of current running through my body. So it's just not my body that determines how much current gets absorbed, it's the source as well. The big lines provide more current than the smaller ones so I'd be getting more current through my body and have a much greater chance of dying... Thanks!

[Spork Schivago]

Re: How much current goes through me when I touch 120VAC?

You won't get 200 amps going through some one , at 120 or 240v . You only need a few micro amps through the heart or brain to kill you tho.

Right, but I'd get a heck of a lot more than what I'd get if I just touched the receptacle 120VAC hot line. Touching that receptacle, a real good chance I'd survive, touching the giant lines going into the house, real good chance I'd die. That's my understanding. I just wasn't sure if that was the case or not.

[stj]

Re: How much current goes through me when I touch 120VAC?

i acually suspect there would be no difference given the resistance of the body means you wont draw 200A or anything like it.

however, if your outside then your probably standing on grass or wet ground - as in GROUND

[stj]

Re: How much current goes through me when I touch 120VAC?

btw, the worst shock i'v had was from a pinball machine.
190v DC
far more painfull that 230v AC

probably not as dangerous as the 10-20KV i got hit with from a CRT, but that was residual so hardly any current!

[budm]

Re: How much current goes through me when I touch 120VAC?

"The big lines provide more current than the smaller ones so I'd be getting more current through my body and have a much greater chance of dying... Thanks!" Your body impedance will dictate how much current will flow through you bodyy back to the source (if the source of the Higher amperage (I.E.30 breaker) and the lower amperage (I.E. 15A breaker) has the same Voltage, I.E. 120V).
For example, you plug 100W into the socket that has 120VAC 100A breaker, it will draw the same amount of current if you plug the same 100W lamp into the 120VAC 15A breaker.

[Spork Schivago]

Re: How much current goes through me when I touch 120VAC?

"The big lines provide more current than the smaller ones so I'd be getting more current through my body and have a much greater chance of dying... Thanks!" Your body impedance will dictate how much current will flow through you bodyy back to the source (if the source of the Higher amperage (I.E.30 breaker) and the lower amperage (I.E. 15A breaker) has the same Voltage, I.E. 120V).
For example, you plug 100W into the socket that has 120VAC 100A breaker, it will draw the same amount of current if you plug the same 100W lamp into the 120VAC 15A breaker.

Okay, so, now I'm back on track. That makes sense, which means, if I grab those big giant lines, it'll be just like grabbing the little lines, right? Like you said, it's the device that determines the current, right? I'm the load, so my resistance would determine how much current goes through me.

The light bulb is a perfect example and clears this all up to me. It's using 100 watt, regardless of whether it's in those big lines or those small lines. Those big lines aren't anymore dangerous than the smaller lines with me just touching them.

[budm]

Re: How much current goes through me when I touch 120VAC?

Just Ohms law.

[stj]

Re: How much current goes through me when I touch 120VAC?

just keep in mind that your incoming cables are probably not "hot and neutral", but are phases.
so you have 240v between them, not 120
(you should know that after your extension work)

[Spork Schivago]

Re: How much current goes through me when I touch 120VAC?

just keep in mind that your incoming cables are probably not "hot and neutral", but are phases.
so you have 240v between them, not 120
(you should know that after your extension work)

The extension work was weird. I do have a 120V, 120V and neutral I believe. One side of the panel is dedicated to one cable, the other side is dedicated to the other cable. The middle wire is for the grounding and neutral bars. They're connected, the grounding and neutral bars. I'm guessing each hot side of the panel is connected as well.

When I did my 240V, I hooked the 120V hot's to the two breakers on the same side, so there's not a hot on each side. I think that's the "proper" way of doing it. These breakers were "tied" together. If I flip one, the other automatically trips, and vice-versa.

[budm]

Re: How much current goes through me when I touch 120VAC?

The AC house wring in the US are fed with power transformer 240V with center tap, the center tap is connected to earth ground, the safety GND wire is also connected to the center tap, the neutral wire is also bonded to the SAFETY GND. The The Voltage between L1, L2 is 240 and it is usually used for electric stove, Dryer, etc.

http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu...ic/hsehld.html
http://www.esgroundingsolutions.com/...he-main-panel/