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Subject:HV Dangers; AC versus DC From:"Johnson, Mike C. @ SLG" <MCJOHNSO -at- SLC -dot- UNISYSGSG -dot- COM> Date:Mon, 20 Mar 1995 15:04:00 MST
DC can push more current through you in a second than the same AC voltage
can. For example, the average potential across 220-volt AC terminals is
about 156 volts, but a 220-volt DC source is always at 220 volts.
In either case, it's the current that does you in.
The static charge that jumps from your finger to the door knob is caused by
a potential that can approach several thousand volts. But only a few
microamps of current flows for a fraction of a second, so you live through
it. The ICs in your pacemaker may not be as lucky, however.
Mike Johnson
michaelc_johnson -at- email -dot- state -dot- ut -dot- us
