When is it safe for electric current to pass through the body, and when is it dangerous?
I don’t mean quantity of voltage; I mean that is it dangerous if I were to hang from a live wire (aka not grounded), or if I am grounded is that dangerous? Is it possible to have electric current flowing through the body safely, then instantly die because you touch a ground/stop touching a ground?
In: Physics
The intensity of the current passing through your body, measured in amps, is what kills you. Current will only flow when there is a potential difference (voltage) between 2 points with low enough resistance. It will take the path of least resistance to the ground. Since air is an insulator, the current will not *likely* flow through you when you are not grounded. I said “likely” because as voltage gets higher, insulators stop being effective. This is when arcs form, like lightning. So you can get electrocuted even when you are not touching the ground or the wire if the gap is short enough for electricity to arc. This is why it is highly dangerous to get close to power lines and transformers. Safe distance depends on the voltage.
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