Biology Society

Electric Shock
Introduction
An electric shock occurs when a person comes into contact with an electrical energy
source. Electrical energy flows through a portion of the body causing a shock.
Myth 1
Q. Will a person be shot off when he gets an electric shock?
A. A person’s response to an electric shock, in fact, depends on the magnitude of the
current passing through the body.
The minimum current we can feel is about 1 mA and it gives us a tingling sensation.
The maximum harmless current is 5 mA.
When the current is larger than 20 mA, it will cause muscles to contract suddenly,
which may shoot off the person from the electric source. However if te electric
shock causes the loss of muscle control, the person may be stuck to the electric
source and won’t be shoot off.

Q. Touching an electric source with the back of our hand is relatively safer. Do you
know why?
A. Because we cannot hold the electric source with the back of our hand.

Myth 2
Q. Will a person ignite spontaneously when he stores too much static electricity?
A. The discharge of static electricity is one of the possible explanations. Human is
able to produce static electricity up to several thousand volts, or even thirty
thousand volts. These charges, in normal cases, are discharged through the hair and
it is definitely harmless. But some scientists suggest that in some rare cases like
wearing some highly combustible clothes, the discharge of high voltage static
charge can light up the clothes and cause the human body to ignite without any
external source.
Up to now, “Static electricity theory” has not been proved. Many other theories like
“Wick effect theory” have been put forward to explain why a person ignites. Can
you give one more possible explanation?
[Hints: From the board of the Physics Society]