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First, we need to preface this by stating that amperage levels used in overseas countries does not match US amperage for the same items: electrical outlets, etc.

Second, watts, amps and volts differ.

The formula is:

Watts = Amps x Volts

We have missing pieces to know the amps and milliamperes (mA), which would help us in this question when sources say between 100 and 200 mA of current are lethal.

However, since 500,000 volts is a very large number, we can guess fairly well that this amount would be lethal.

It is important to note, though, that it is NOT simply the volts but other factors which determine what happens in an electrical shock.

AC (alternating current) and DC (direct current) differ also. A third part is resistance, which is not necessarily a fixed or constant variable. For example, muscle mass can be a resistance variable. As well, insulators would create a resistance variable. (As an example of insulators, in one shark movie, a female ocean scientist removes her wet suit and stands on it bundled up... plus she is wearing rubber soled shoes. She pulls a main conduit from overhead, which is sheathed in insulators with an outer metal covering...she can grasp the conduit because the insulator keeps the electricity within the conduit....and she's insulated herself through the rubber beneath her feet. However, had the broken end of the conduit touched her, anywhere, she could still have been electrocuted. Since the shark "fries" when he bites into the conduit, we can assume the volts and amps were high enough to cause the shark to "burn" through it's fat and muscles from the inside out. Because the volts and amps were high enough, the shark could not "let go" of the conduit. See below.)

Less alternating current (AC) will cause equal damage as direct current (DC).

A small amount of AC household current can muscle contraction. If the AC current is high enough, the person cannot let go of the source of the current. The value of the cut-off, i.e. when a person can physically let go of the source of the current, is known as the "let-go current". Depending on muscle mass, the 'let go" values are about 5 to 7 milliamperes for women and 7 to 9 milliamperes for men. Depending on the muscle mass and size of the person, the type of current, and other variables, 0.06 A to 0.07 A is generally lethal.

HOWEVER, even a small amount of electricity, even household electricity can cause severely harm or kill a human or animal ! This is due to several reasons. 1. The body has high water content, muscles, and fat which allow electrical current (not resist).

2. The heart, in particular, uses it's own "current" to contract the heart muscle. The heart must maintain a specific rhythm of contraction and relaxation to effectively pump blood to the lungs, brain, and other vital organs. So, when a human or animal experiences a low AC current jolt, it can cause the overall muscles to contract... and the outside current disrupts the body's normal cardiac rhythm. Even a low AC current can put the heart into fibrillation, which is kind of like shaking a bowl of jello... as long as the heart is fibrillating in the irregular fashion, the heart cannot return to its normal rhythm. If the voltage is high enough that the "let go" value is high, the heart has no possibility of recovering a rhythm. Even after the current is turned off, the heart will continue to fibrillate unless a "normal sinus rhythm" is established by external means, i.e. by a doctor, nurse, or paramedic using a "Defibrillator" machine to send a new low voltage "shock" into the heart back into a rhythm that is compatible with life.

Even in low voltage situations, other physical damage can be severe, including:

  • sustained and painful muscle contraction
  • loss of respirations
  • 1st, 2nd, and 3rd degree burns, localized or over a large percent of the body -- if over a large portion or 3rd degree, the body has lost a significant infection barrier because the skin is not intact and the body oozes fluids -- IVs are important
  • an increased core body temperature -- fat gets hot and continues to "burn" internally -- this is a second reason IV fluids are important
  • severe burns can close the airway
  • several types of cardiac arrhythmias and cardiac death --- just 60 to 100 milliamperes, low-voltage (110-220 volts), 60-hertz alternating current for a split second can lead to death
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Q: Would 500 000 volts knock out a man of larger proportion?
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