electric shock

[jimmonas]

is it true that its not the volts that kill you in electrity but the amps..if so how many amps does it take ??

[vehelpfulguy]

Depends if you have dry hands and wearing rubber boots, or if you are standing in a bucket of water with wet hands.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_shock

[sddsddean]

As vhfg says, bit of a depends question, but on the whole correct. For example, the High Tension leads on a car engine (which work the spark plugs) run at about 12,000 Volts (can't remember the amperage). You can get an uncomfortable belt off them, but it won't kill you, whereas a domestic cooker runs at 240Volts , but around 30 amps and that could conceivably kill you.

[priceyclause]

30mV is lethal

[priceyclause]

30mA sorry!

[Loosehead]

If you imagine a hose pipe then the volts are the pressure and the amps are the amount of water Ie the thickness of the pipe. So it's a combination of the 2, ie you need enough pressure but you also need enough water.

[heathfield]

Only a tiny current to kill you through 'ventricular fibrillation'. Here, heart muscles are affected by the current and move independently of each other. This means the heart no longer acts as a pump. A tenth of an amp (100 mA) can do this. Under certain conditions, and according to the sensitivity of the victim, it could be as low as Priceyclause's 30 mA.