Re: How not to wire up an electric grill

On Thu, 10 Jan 2008 17:54:26 -0800, ChairmanOfTheBored
<RUBored@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

On Thu, 10 Jan 2008 08:57:08 -0500, Rich Webb
<bbew.ar@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

John Devereux wrote:
Robert Latest <boblatest@xxxxxxxxx> writes:

Joerg wrote:
Hello Folks,

This was posted in a German NG. Now don't do that!

http://www.linuxno.de/_data/gallery/nwl7/_medium_DSCN7823.JPG

Actually I don't think that's very dangerous. It would be dangerous if, in
the case of the power strip getting submerged, a substantial portion of the
current went through the guys' bodies but I can't see how that would happen.

Same with the old "hairdryer in bathtub" situation. What IS dangerous is
holding the dryer (or any other unsealed, mains-powered device) with wet
hands while the rest of the body is well-grounded (as it is when sitting in
the tub). What ISN'T dangerous, IMO, is to drop the plugged-in dryer into
the tub while someone is sitting in it (but not on the sink or other
grounded metal parts), especially if a FI fuse is fitted.

I couldn't bring myself to try it out to freak out the wife though (she's
convinced that 230V can arc about half a meter between blow dryers and
water), but I'm sure the biggest danger is that of an immediate divorce.

You are probably right - but perhaps the human body is a better
conductor than bath or pool water (being full of salty fluids). So the
current might take a short cut!

As I understand it, it's not a case of a short cut but that the current
flows through all available paths and a person in the bath or pool would
be part of, and well coupled to, a non-trivial subset of "all paths."


You're both fucking wrong.

Several MEGAVolt lightning follows many and or all paths in such a
manner as described, in SOME instances, but not some damned AC line. It
goes to ground, and if it gets the current high enough, kicks the fucking
breaker, just like it is supposed to do.

What it does NOT do, is migrate over ten feet and pass current through a
body that does not even have an attractor for it.

What if the body is between the introduced conductor and the metal
drain pipe, connected to ground? If there is a field of some voltage
established in the water, with the tremendous wet skin surface area
removing the natural skin resistance, and the higher conductivity of
the ionic flesh, there might be significant currents throught the
body. It might only take about 100 uA through the heart to make it
fibrillate.

--
John
.

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