No Swimming

quote:
Originally posted by gaineso

And it doesn't take many volts to stop the heart.

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Actually it is amps that do the damage.

George
 
George, in 78 or so I sat through an Hour long lecture on the effects of certain frequencies going across the Chest Area and all the lurid details of the 'Natural Pace maker' reaction to a time as small as a Millisecond.

What I learned was two things:
I'd not be able to help anybody with that explanation.
And two, not to let any AC pass across my chest!
 
That is a sad story.
I have had a question in the back of my mind though....how is it we never hear stories of divers getting electrocuted? They are diving around docks all the time but I've never seen a story about them getting zapped. Every time I see a diver go in the water at the docks I keep thinking how glad I am not the one hopping in there!
 
It also takes a small amperage to defib the heart 'pacemaker' nodes. And it's nice to know that hearts have a backup 'pacemaker' of cells that take over if the A-V node goes haywire, kind of a backup parachute.
 
"...they found a short in a 220 volt electric line...."

Shouldn't that have tripped a breaker?
 
"short" is commonly used as anything wrong with a wire. Also, I doubt there was a 220 leg, usually you have two 110v phases to obtain 220v.

We covered this in ATC where personally, I didn't believe something like this could happen but after long discussions, I am convinced. Obviously this is one of the cases where it did happen.

What happens is live electrical current is exposed and in contact with water, the water conducts enough electricity to ground out (to the actual ground, a metal pipe, your bonded outdrive, etc). There is an electric leak. The breaker doesn't trip because this leak is acting like any other appliance and not drawing too much amperage. A GFCI would have tripped, that monitors the electric out(+) and in(-) and if there is a disparity, it trips. Regular breakers do not.

Very sad indeed.
 
As I understand this issue,

It is a fresh water concern,

salt water conducts elctricity differently than fresh water, as it was explained to me.

Timmy B
 
Timmy B

While the risk is greater in fresh water, the problem still exists in all types of water. The fact that the water is salt water does not mean that the risk is abasement, only that the risk is lower than if the water were fresh.
 
I have only heard of this happening in fresh water,

but I will keep looking to see if salt water accidents have occurred.

Timmy
 
quote:
Originally posted by WALSHIE

"short" is commonly used as anything wrong with a wire. ......
Click to expand...


Yes, by people who have absolutely no understanding of electricity.

It makes it difficult to communicate with people who use words that they don't understand.
 
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