Are people good conductors of electricity?

Answer 1

The human body is very much like a thin rubber bag full of salt water. Usually the thin insulating membrane known as our skin does an excellent job of protecting us from all manner of harm, such as a poke with sharp stick, bacteria, viruses, dirt, and (only becoming an issue in the last 100 years) electricity. If any of these things are able to get past the protective barrier of our skin, they can cause a great deal of harm. Cuts, sores, scrapes, abrasions, and rashes all represent weak spots in our skin and all of them are potential routes for infection. They are also potential routes for electric shocks to do much more harm than we are accustomed to them doing. Although the skin has a very large resistance (on the order of MegaOhms), the salt water (electrolyte) solution that is in your body is designed specifically to conduct electricity, so that your nerve impulses can reach the muscles and do those little things we enjoy doing so much, such as walking and breathing. Normally, dry skin in good condition is insulating enough to provide fair protection against electric shocks up to 120VAC, such as is found in a typical North American electrical outlet. 240VAC is quite capable of knocking you flat on your ass and rendering you unconscious for a while, but still little lasting damage is usually done. If the electrical shock is strong enough, it will stop your heart and kill you.

Answer 2

Sad to say, YES. We conduct electricity too well in fact. We are subject to lightning strikes and can become a conductor by touching electrical devices. This is because we consist of mostly water and as such water is a good conductor as well.

Answer 3

Yes and so are all other mammals.

Answer2

The word 'good' is a comparative term. I think humans are not very good conductors, personally. If you connect a 12 volt battery across your finger almost no current at all will flow. But if you connect it across a lump of metal then a lot will flow. A human will conduct more electricity if you wet its skin.

I know that people get electrocuted because they conduct electricity. But you'd need quite a voltage (say 200) to do that.

Take a car battery, and hold both terminals. Nothing. But connect a piece of wire across the terminals and it will probably get red hot and even melt straight away because it's a good conductor. (Be careful if you try this because the wire will heat up uder your hand and burn you very quickly)

Answer 4

The composition of the human body includes several substances that are quite good
electrical conductors, particularly the soft moist tissues and many nice savory juices
inside. The part of the body that's NOT a good conductor is dry skin, so if you try to
use a person to connect a circuit, the conductivity through the person depends almost
entirely on how you make the connection, and how 'good' the connection is. Without
any moisture on the skin, or a tiny break in its outer layer, the path through the person
will have quite high resistance. But that resistance is all concentrated right there, where
the connections to the person are made. With the exception of the first fraction of a
millimeter of skin, the rest of the path through a person is not a much better insulator
than a copper wire is.

Answer 5

Yes, people are relatively good conductors of electricity due to the high water content in our bodies. However, the conductivity of the human body can vary based on factors such as skin moisture and contact area with an electrical source. It is important to exercise caution when dealing with electricity to prevent injury or harm.

Answer 6

kind of, electricity can travel through the blood

Answer 7

Yes, we are. If you were holding someone's hand, making contact with their skin when they were electrocuted, you would feel the tingle or the shock as well.

Answer 8

Blood is a conductor of electricity.

Answer 9

very well