Why is human body a bad conductor of electricity?

Answer 1

Answer

Technically the human body would fall into the 'poor conductor' category based

on it's basic resistance to electricity. It's on the order of a few K-ohms (1-2,000 ohms) to several MegOhms, depending on the current path.

A "good conductor", like a copper wire will typically exhibit less than 1/2 ohm.

That said, the human body does NOT respond well to being in the path of current. Few people survive lightning strikes because the voltage could approach a MILLION volts, and the current path is very likely across the chest cavity. Even with our bodies being a poor conductor, the strike is often fatal because of the current path across the heart, and localized tissue heating from the lightning, that lowers the body's internal resistance.

People who handle live voltages have special training and rules to follow to protect our lives. I've been accidentally zapped by 50,000 volts while repairing color TV sets, it felt like I was stabbed by a needle, and left a small black spot about that size on my finger. I survived because of my training, and the "one hand rule". Yet I still jump, and find static electricity discharges painful.

Another answer

The human body is actually a fairly good conductor of electricity, technically speaking. Remember that the body has a lot of water in it, and it also contains a lot of dissovled ions. These combine to make the body a fairly good conductor of electricity. Note, however, that dry skin has a fair amount of resistance to it, but under the dermal layers, the "wet" body will conduct pretty well.

Answer 2

it's considered that because we have a good amount of temperature and we stick to balloons.

While temperature would effect conductivity in relation what state (gas, liquid, solid) an object is, it is really a question of whether we are part of a curcuit and are grounded that makes us appear to be conductive during an electric shock. If we were an ungrounded portion of a simple circuit, we would not be considered a good conductor.

Balloons sticking to us has to do with our +/- electrons, usually in dry hair, not our conductivity.

Answer 3

There is no "why", because the human body is a truly fine electrical conductor.

Once you get past the skin, which is relatively well insulated, electricity can

really go berserk with all the yummy juices, tissues, and fluids under the skin.

Once upon a time, a device designed around this fact was a popular method of

legal execution in the USA.

Answer 4

That is because of the liquids in the human body, which contain ions.