Get an electricity shock of very high voltage.?

Question

What if a person get an electricity shock of very high voltage like 100k V . It would be much better if you have some website to support your answer.

Answer 1

It's not so much the voltage you need to worry about. It's the amount of Amps that will kill you. A Van de Graaff Generator, is a generator that will produce a large amount of voltage. It has a motor driven belt, that rubs against a brush, that collects a static charge. It's collected in a round ball at the top of the generator. If you put your hand on it, your hair will stand straight up. Even though there's 1000s of volts going through it, it's harmless. Your insulated by a rubber mat that you stand on. If you touch something that is grounded, you'll get a shock that stings, but it wont kill you. It produces very little Amperage. It only takes about 3 - 4 amps to kill. For a web site, just type in Howstuffworks "Static Electricity". It will tell you all about one.

Answer 2

Wapadoo, you are luck you are alive if you think it takes 3 amps to kill you. It only takes 10 to 20 mA, that's 0.01 to 0.02 amps. You can get this current with a voltage as low as 40 volts.

to address the question:

You may die, or you may not, it depends on a lot of factors. But at that high a voltage, you probably will

Some factors: AC versus DC, the path the current takes through your body, and the resistance of your body. If it is AC, the frequency plays a part. Higher frequencies tend to flow on the surface of your skin, avoiding internal organs.

How your body reacts to the shock is also important. Your muscles will convulse, and this may throw you away from the wires, or it may throw you into them.

Answer 3

Static electricity can generate a very high voltage, but if this is on a small capacitor, the total charge will be small.  It can discharge through you very quickly - ouch - but if the total charge is small enough it will do little harm. The voltage will, of course, be discharged in the process.

If the voltage is coming from a continuously replenished source, 100 kV would probably fry you.