If I touch an electricity source (let’s say a phase wire) with my index finger, and another very conductive material with my little finger, will the current go only through my hand?

Question

Or will it nevertheless go through my body and wreak havoc like it normally would?

I’m not actually planning on conducting (pun intended) this experiment, just wondering whether the electricity could be “guided” through the body in any predictable way.

In: 49

Answer 1

Electricity can and will divide the flow into many separate paths, each path carrying that amount of electricity that is proportional to the total amount of current flow and the TOTAL resistance of all paths involved according to Kirchoff’s Law. It can get messy. But…BUT… IF you are sure to keep from grounding any other part of your body, then eliminating any other path to ground for the current, then you are essentially correct.

In engineering school in the late 60s,I still remember when we were first working on television sets in lab. First thing prof said was “If you are right handed, put your LEFT hand in your pocket and KEEP it there. This prevents you from making an accidental second path to ground for the high voltage section, which would probably kill you. Lefties, pocket your right hand. “