Why is it safe to touch the electricity-outputting end of our phone and computer chargers with no sort of electric shock on us as opposed to other dangerous electrical outputs?

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Exactly as stated in the title. All my life I’ve been able to touch my phone or computer’s electrical charger output (accidentally or for whatever the reason) with no sort of “buzz” or feeling from the electricity going through the output. At least that has always been my experience with it.

Just in case: Don’t intentionally try this of course.

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Anonymous 0 Comments

Electricity and water have a lot of useful comparisons. One of them is the similarity between voltage and water pressure:

Imagine that your charger is a drinking straw, and your electrical outlet is a garden hose. Electrical resistance is like obstructing the water flow; higher resistance = lower flow (current). If you squirt water through a drinking straw, it’s easy to completely stop the flow with your finger, but it’s much harder to completely stop the water from a garden hose with a finger, because the pressure is much higher. Your charger has a much lower voltage compared to a wall plug, so the same amount of electrical resistance (from flowing across your skin) permits far, far lower electrical current to flow.

Your muscles and nerves can react to electricity flowing through them, and if enough electrical current flows through your body, it can cause burns. Your skin’s electrical resistance doesn’t allow a meaningful amount of current to flow when a phone charger’s voltage is applied, but mains/wall voltage is high enough that your body can pass dangerous amounts of electrical current.

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