What causes an electric shock - Current or Voltage?

Question

Though voltage and current are two interdependent physical quantity, I would like to know what gives more "shock" to a person - Voltage or Current? In simple words, will it cause more "electric - shock" when the voltage is high or Current is more?

Answer 1

You'd have to define 'shock', but what kills you is enough current during enough time, not voltage. Of course you need enough voltage to keep the current going over your body's resistance, but it definitely plays a secondary role.

In a former professional life I worked developing Residual Current Circuit Breakers, and 30 mA is the usual rating for devices aiming at protecting lives. In wet environments, such as bathrooms or swimming pools, sometimes 10 mA is recommended.

According to wikipedia's RCCB article, 25-40 ms of 30 mA is enough to send your heart into fibrillation, which probably qualifies as a pretty strong shock. That would require your heart being in the path of the current, though. This link has more information on what to expect depending, again, on the current, not the voltage.

Answer 2

You see, current in one direction indicates the flow of free electrons in the other direction. Hence, current flows. But voltage does not flow. It's actually the work done per unit charge. (Joule/Coulomb). In other words, it's an energy or simply the potential difference between two points. Sometimes, a bird does not get a shock while resting on a carrier wire (Not all time the bird sits on the same wire). Whereas By touching the live wire and ground, we create a potential difference (a path which is sufficient enough for current to flow) with live wire relative to earth. Hence, we get a shock...

Electric shock is the sufficient amount of current flowing through human body which the person could feel. But, this doesn't mean that shock is not caused by Voltage. Of course, it depends upon voltage which is given by Ohm's law... $$I=\frac{V}{R}$$

The shock your body feels, depends upon the applied voltage & resistance of your body. If your body has a resistance of about 10,000 $\Omega$, and the voltage is 230 V, then $$I=\frac{230}{10000}=23 mA$$

You would get a shock, but seriously... (You can't let go off this current)

Hence, you cannot differentiate a shock based on voltage or current. It depends on both voltage and resistance of your body (which implies current).

Here's a page which shows current paths and another one which provides comparison info..!

Answer 3

If we model the path for the current through the human body as a resistor, then by Ohm's law, the current and voltage are proportional.

That is, a greater current through the body will be associated with a greater voltage across the body.

Having said that, let's consider the source of the shock. It is the case that sources may produce a large voltage but are not capable or sourcing significant current. These sources are said to have high internal resistance.

The point is that a high-voltage source with high internal resistance may not give you much of a shock at all while a lower voltage source with low internal resistance may kill you.

So, there really isn't a simple answer to your question other than "it depends".

Answer 4

The shock is the product of the current and the voltage, so in principle you need both. A friction spark from your shoe is high voltage by low ampage, but a shock from a power main is high ampage and comparatively low voltage.

The type of current, whether it is alternating or steady, is also important, as an alternating current will interfere with biological processes more than a steady current. But the energy deposited is the product of the two, so it is not meaningful to separate them out.

Answer 5

Higher voltage causes more shock at the same wattage.

Low-voltage high-current exposure will be felt as warming up not as a shock.

Answer 6

the current generates the heat.....but the voltage (potential difference) generates shock...so i think shock is generat due to high voltage!!