For your attention, this is already the 75th question that was asked to me by a reader who introduced himself as Sergei. If you have your own answer to the question, then write it in the comments below. I and other readers of my channel will be happy to read it.
I quote verbatim the text of the question itself:
Hello.
I have a slightly strange question for you. In general, I had an oil heater plugged in. He stood next to a radiator that heats rooms. So, I began to hang things on it, and accidentally touched the rusty place on the heater with my skin and started to pinch me with an electric current (weak, but not pleasant).
Then I checked in the kitchen. This was not the case. Then I checked the surge protector in my room, and found cut wires. In general, I changed it to a normal mains filter and after that the heater did not beat the current. I already realized that it was a surge protector.
So the actual question is: why, when I touched the battery, did I feel the current on the heater, and not on the battery? How did this have to do with the surge protector? I touched the battery with one finger, and with the other on the rusty spot of the heater. Why was the electric shock weak? Thank.
I reviewed the issue and advised the reader within the framework of my knowledge and qualifications as follows:
The sensation of electric shock comes from a point of high electrical potential. Therefore, if you felt an electric shock when touching the heater, then its body at that time was under some kind of potential, the value of which was much higher than the battery potential.
Your other hand touching the battery was only one possible path for the electric current, but it could also flow through your legs. Therefore, the hand touching the voltage source felt the blow, since it hit the maximum electric current, - then he could be redistributed and the rest of the limbs felt it in a significant to a lesser extent.
If the sensation of the impact itself was weak, then it depends on the magnitude of the potential difference that were applied to you and on the resistance of your body.
In practice, human resistance is determined by:
- The condition of the skin - keratinization, the presence of corns, etc. all kinds of damage to the skin increase your resistance, on the contrary, reduce resistance;
- Reduce resistance wet or damp hands, and dry, on the contrary, increase resistance to current;
- The human condition - alcoholic intoxication, soreness, lack of sleep, significantly reduce the body's resistance.
The connection between electric shock and insulation damage lies in the possibility of the transfer of the potential of the phase or neutral wire to the terminal of the protective conductor. If the heater has a grounding contact on the plug, then the potential from the mains filter with damaged insulation could easily pass to the device case.