Which Battery Can Provide More Shock?

Given a battery with 50V,1A and another of 25V, 2A.

Which will give more shock?
Will a supply of 2000V, 0.00002A give any shock?
How do I calculate which battery can provide more shock?

You have asked a question that is a function of an individual's body resistance.

The amount of current results in the severity of the shock. Under most cicumstances the current a battery can deliver is not a function of shock - unless the power source has a limited current capability.

For example the 20 uA at 2000 volts will not cause a shock which most people can feel. It does not mean the current is not flowing - just means the body does not react violently to it.

Lets assume your body exhibits a 100K ohms of resistance -
so for a 50 volt source the current able to flow is 0.5 mA - which we don't normally feel
the 25 volt source will have a 0.25 amp flow - again we don't normally feel it.

Now the 2000 volt source - if it can will deliver 20 mA - which will would most definitely feel, but because you have limited the current to 20 uA - we would not feel the current flowing through our body.

Check out these links for more detailed info

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_shock
http://www.osha.gov/SLTC/etools/construction/electrical_incidents/eleccurrent.html

Also please note the levels of shock differ from AC to DC. We seem to be more sensitive to AC current.

dude ohms law will be best answer for ur silly question

Given that it takes about 50mA (or even less) current to cause arrhythmia what saves us from being shocked by batteries is their low voltage. A car battery can easily weld a solid bar of copper if it shorts across its terminals simply because the bar has very low resistance, and the battery can easily supply a short term current of 200A before discharging completely. But we don't see people getting burnt by car batteries because of their low voltage - 12VDC (or conversely due to the resistance of the human body). However, any DC (or AC) greater than 40V poses a risk of electrocution - and the risk increases (i.e., lesser voltage required to get a shock) if the body part touching the electrical item is wet.

See: http://www.hydroquebec.com/security/effet_courant.html

The answer is 50v battery gives 1 amp on 50 ohm but the 25v will give only 0.5 amp on 50 ohms resistor. So 50 volt battery gives more shock.

Since shock is something that is perceived by the person being shocked there is no correct answer. The same amount of power is available in each example. The ability to jump an air gap would be another way to quantify the question. The ability to jump that air gap is primarily a function of voltage. An example would be a spark plug in an internal combustion engine, 50,000 V at 5 milliamps!

Only if you are trying to "shock" the resistor ;)

To put it simply: your body is a resistor. Ohm's law states that *voltage = current x resistance*. There is a certain amount of current that will result in a shock. Let call that '*I*', and lets call the resistance of that portion of the body you are trying to shock, '*R*'. Therefore, *voltage = I x R*.

Now, what is the resistance of that portion of the body that you are trying to shock? That depends on a number of factors, not all of which I probably know, but some of them are: whether the skin, in that region, is damp; the surface area of contact with the probe [that carries the current being used to shock that area]; time of day; whether the skin is broken in that area; etc.

The severity of the shock is determined by how much current flows through the flesh in the path of the current [NOT the voltage]. The role of voltage is to induce the current, BUT the _amount_ of current will be determined by both the voltage and the resistance of the current path through the skin and flesh involved.

From Wikipedia:

The minimum current a human can feel depends on the current type (AC or DC) and frequency. A person can feel at least 1 mA (rms) of AC at 60 Hz, while at least 5 mA for DC. At around 10 milliamperes, AC current passing through the arm of a 68 kg (150 lb) human can cause powerful muscle contractions; the victim is unable to voluntarily control muscles and cannot release an electrified object.[2] This is known as the "let go threshold" and is a criterion for shock hazard in electrical regulations.

The current may, if it is high enough, cause tissue damage or fibrillation which leads to cardiac arrest; more than 30 mA[3] of AC (rms, 60 Hz) or 300 – 500 mA of DC can cause fibrillation.[4][5]

Thanks for writing. But my question was which one will more shock. if same man get shock from both cells, shock from 50v, cell wud be more as the current capacity of dat cell is more than other. This wll be same for everyone.

What we are trying to say is there is no pat answer to your question. You have to apply the physics and do the math because every situation is different -- i.e. different current paths due to different modes of contact, different skin resistances, different times of day, different levels of perspiration (more, probably, after the first shock)...

But, given the exact same conditions (not likely in the real world), the higher voltage will produce the greater "shock" [if you define "shock" to mean the same thing in all situations -- as even _that_ is subjective.

And when you say a battery rated at 50V 1Amp, that "1 Amp" rating must mean something like, "maximum current allowed", or "fused at 1 Amp", or "50 volts at 1 Amp [and a different voltage at some other current]" or "50V 1 Amp-Hour [AHr]". A battery (or _any_ voltage source) only delivers as much current as the load allows, up to the maximum current it is capable of delivering (due to internal resistance the voltage will change as well -- more or less, depending on the magnitude of that resistance). So, if you apply the terminals of your 50V battery to someones body part, it won't necessarily cause 1 Amp to flow -- in fact, it will, likely, be much less than that. Same with your 25V battery. 2 Amps will only flow if the body part has a resistance of 12.5Ω -- very unlikely!

You really cannot prove that statement! That's the problem you keep saying "Shock" where shock is not measurable. If you ask the question as, "which will pass more current through the body"? Then the answer is obvious if the persons resistance is known. Again shock is not a standard measurement. It takes both Voltage and Amps to shock a person and two people can/will have different resistances. Lethality has been researched and can be quantified to some extent but even then a shock that would be lethal to one person may not be lethal to another. Even the same person will have different resistances depending on if they are sweating or not so one leg of your three legged stool that is the answer to your question is sitting on quicksand. Lets see how that translates.:~)

Actually, its only current that causes a shock. Voltage is incidental, in that it's only role is to induce the current. If there is current, then there is a voltage to produce it, but it's not the voltage that causes the shock sensation.

Interesting. I have only heard that 1A at 50V can kill you, but have not tried it myself.... :o) Current is the important factor for sure.

May be a little off topic, but have a look at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6a57EJsFxmI for a good laugh.

I agree that the current flow is the most dangerous part of the shock but:
0 Voltage = 0 shock
Also
0 Amperage = 0 shock

BUT:
Amperage in the milliamp range and Voltage High = big shock
Voltage in the millivolt range and Amperage High = 0 shock

So no, amperage does not cause shock

You're welcome to test your theory, but have paramedics standing by ;)

[That's assuming you can achieve appreciable current in the "millivolt range"]