I understand basically that the current, or amps, are what cause harm, but based on Ohm’s law, V=IR, for the amps to be so low with such high voltage, the resistance must be very high. So why do you need such a high voltage in the first place? Wouldn’t that require a transformer to step up the voltage? And doesn’t such a high voltage create a safety risk, for instance if a conductor with lower resistance came into contact with the voltage source? If you want low amps as not to electrocute animals/people, would it not be easier to use lower voltage?
Just curious and trying to understand. Electricity is like magic to me.
In: Physics
You walk across a wool carpet on a cold crisp day and as you reach for a doorknob a static electric spark might jump a quarter of an inch to zap you on your finger. It happens all the time and though harmless it hurts.
The resistance in air is so high that it takes 20,000 volts to jump through air, but the amount of current is trivially small and, though annoying, it’s harmless. It’s the same way with electric fences, and [Van de Graaff generators](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Van_de_Graaff_generator).
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