I'm a physics students and often come up with seemingly stupid questions I can't really find an answer to. If the human body acts as a resistor of around 100 kilo-ohms or more, how is it that I could die by grounding myself with the hot terminal of an electrical outlet?I understand that the average current flowing through me is the product of RMS-voltage over resistancebut this value doesn't seem NEARLY high enough to do any damage much less for me to detect.Thanks!
Mr. C. has an excellent answer. I might also add that as an electrical worker I find it very important to make sure that when I work with electrical circuits and safety equipment that I try and eliminate a flow path from live to ground that can pass through my heart area. We always use safety equipment and follow procedure but at times you have no choice but to get very close to energized exposed circuits. They can and do bite. I have been known to take an extra step and insulate exposed energized areas that are near my legs when I am working with energized circuits above my waist.
