⚡ "It's not the volts that kill you, it's the amps" ⚡
Why Electrical Engineering Stack Exchange recommends it
Electronics Stack Exchange answerers and commenters point people to it when explaining electrical shock danger and why volts, amps and energy cannot be separated.
Recommended by 1 people across 1 different months, 2011 to 2014.
What it is
Afrotechmods argues that the saying 'it's not the volts that kill you, it's the amps' is misleading, because voltage across the body's resistance determines the current that flows. It is a short explainer on electric shock, body resistance, and why static shocks at very high voltage are not lethal.
What people said
Recommends hlovdal · 2011-09 · Electrical Engineering Stack Exchange · on “How much voltage/current is "dangerous"?”
It's not the voltage but the current that kills , is a popular yet still incorrect incomplete answer. It is the ENERGY that kills. With static electricity you will will be exposed to voltages much, much, much higher than 110/230V and that is not dangerous. So obviously high voltages are not that dangerous in some cases. Why? Because the time is so short that the total energy you are exposed to is so low. Please see the video It's not the volts that kill you, it's the amps at youtube [this video] that explains this topic in more detail.
Cites Buzai Andras · 2012-05 · Electrical Engineering Stack Exchange · on “Why won't a 1.5V (or 1.2V) battery give an electric shock?”
@Olin Lathrop: I don't think this statement is quite correct: "What causes harm to your body and what you feel is current, not voltage". As far as I know there is no current without a voltage (without separation of charges which requires work to be done. More work ... more energy I think). I also found a video about this: [this video]
Cites hedgepig · 2013-03 · Electrical Engineering Stack Exchange · on “Why are typically fatal currents non-lethal when they pass through your body for a short time?”
I've been reading up on electrical safety, and the commonly cited controversial quote "it's not the volts that kills you, it's the amps". What I have gotten out of these sources is that it is in fact the amperes that stop one's heart, but the voltage determines this current, and the body is a non-ohmic resistor. (I have read this [LINK] which mentions a lot about the volts and amps). However, I am confused as to how much time a current must be passed through your body in order to be fatal. This [this video] video states that if you were to model the human body as a 100 picofarad capacitor with a 1500 ohm resistor in series, a high voltage static shock would pass a very high current through the bo
Cites Dov · 2014-07 · Electrical Engineering Stack Exchange · on “9V battery and resistor are connected in series - the voltage across the resistor is < 9V. Why?”
A battery's resistance is due to its materials, which are partially liquid or gel. The resistance not only is going to change with temperature, but also with the amount of reactants in the battery vs. end products. In other words, as the battery is used its resistance changes. The resistance of your body is another good example: you are not a simple resistor. Your skin has resistance but after burning through, your internal organs have lower resistance. [this video]