Stupid question about christmas lights

[AKcharger]

As we were putting up Christmas decorations today I took a strand of lights and repeatedly pluged them in and out of an electrical outlet to make them flash to the sound of the music we had playing (yes I'm a child  ) My wife then tells me "you're going to get electricuted if you keep the up" Of course I'm too smart to let that happen, but here's my question:

if you touch only ONE of the two prongs when it's plugged in will you get a shock or do you have to touch both?? I tried to get my son to try but he was a chicken!

[stripedelete]

Good question.  I think it has to do with how well YOU are grounded.  

[bakerhillpins]

Yea, stripedelete is basically correct but you are still playing with your life. It all has to do with "completing the circuit" as it were.  I don't suggest you do this.

Oh, and don't get a false sense of safety from GFI circuits either. You can still kill yourself with them it's just harder.  

[edit]


http://www.pa.msu.edu/sciencet/ask_st/010892.html

Electricity is dangerous because of its disruptive effect on the life support organs of the human body. We characterize electricity by two quantities: voltage and current. Voltage is measured in units called volts and current is measured in units of amps. The primary factors determining the effect of electricity on the body are the amount and path of the current passing through the body.

Currents of less than 0.02 amp may produce sensations ranging from tingling to sharp pain. A more serious effect occurs if the current causes muscles to contract. A person touching a live wire with their outstretched hand may literally not be able to let go of the wire due to the current's effect on the muscles. Experienced electricians who must sometimes deal with wires which may be live always use the backs of their hands to move the wires; if a current were present, the contacting muscles would cause the hand to pull away from the wire. Currents from 0.03 to 0.07 amp will begin to impair the ability of the person to breathe.

The most dangerous range of currents is from 0.1 to about 0.2 amp. Currents in this range can cause death by initiating fibrillation (uncontrollable twitching) of the heart, which stops the regular flow of blood to the rest of the body. Currents much larger than 0.1 amp do NOT result in fibrillation and instead stop the heart completely. If the duration of the current is short, the heart will usually start to beat by itself after the current is removed.

BTW - I have been in a situation where I couldn't move my arm. I was much younger and wasn't paying attention and ended up getting my finger stuck between the prongs of a wall wart I was plugging into a power strip. I was quick enough to roll away (was on the floor plugging in the ColecoVision, anyone else remember that?) and pull my finger out. It was a less than pleasant experience. 

[skip68]

Strange as it may sound, if you're NOT completing the circuit you're safe.  I've had 277, 220, 120 and if I remember correctly 408dc.  The 277 made me end up in the hospital with burn marks from the wires on my right hand and burn marks from the strut on my left hand where it made the exit.   Teeth a bit chalky for a week or so and a headache that wouldn't go away for days.   The path of least resistance my friend.   Never play with electricity and never trust a neutral wire either.   

[AKcharger]

Well I sure wasn't going to try it...maybe one of my kids  I was thinking about completing the circut as well, hence why I thought just one prong might not shock you

[skip68]

If you're grounded you will complete the circuit.  Give it a go and tell us what happens.      

[A383Wing]

 

[FLG]

One wont do it unless another body part is touching a ground somewhere.

Im a bit of a dumbass and repeatedly electrocute myself with plugs, i have a tendancy to grab them on the side and kind of use the outlet their plugged into as leverage, which leads me to sometimes grab both prongs as i pull them out.

Oh and spark plug wires, i unplug those sometimes to check for weak/strong spark (i now have a correct spark tester!! much better imo) on my old system spark was strong and you could just unplug a wire and watch it jump from the coil to the wire, no issues. First time i tried it with the upgraded system the damn thing just wants to jump just about anywhere, including on my hands.

Edit:

Actually reminds me of a funny story.

Me and about 4 friends were huddled around our buds mustang to figure out a no-spark issue. It was a long while ago so i dont remember what we had unplugged or what we were doing but we were all shoulder to shoulder, whoever was last in this chain leaned over and touched something....that sent a jolt from him, through all of us and finally to the last guy who was leaning against the car. We all got a good laugh, eventually got the motor running again and he wound up blowing it up anyways.

[skip68]

    Yes bad spark plug wires can feel great.   

[bakerhillpins]

Cathode Ray Tubes get you to sit up and take notice as well. Done that several times. 

[Todd Wilson]

If your house is wired properly one side of the plug will zap you and the other wont.  If you notice the slots of the plug in the one slot is bigger. Thats supposed to be the Neutral. In theory you should be able to touch that side and not get zapped. The other side is the hot side and you will get zapped if you touch it.  If its not wired right you will get zapped............in some cases the Neutral can be hot and you would get zapped either way. Older houses are really bad about this, Houses with fuse boxes and not breakers.  Take a fuse out and your plug in goes dead.............go to change the plug in and get your ass zapped because they wired it wrong! Its best not to mess with it.

IN my antique vacuum tube radio hobby  a lot of the old sets had one side of the cord/plug in wired to the metal chassis and the other side to a switch, Depending on how it was plugged in or how the house was wired the radio can be turned off and you can still get zapped as the chassis is hot even though the radio is off. Reach under to move it and touch a screw on the bottom thats securing the metal chassis to the bakelight (plastic) or wood case and zappp!!!


Todd

[JB400]

Black or red is usually the hot wire if it's wired correctly.  The hot side is on the left side.

I was unscrewing a stove outlet off of a wall.  Took the cover off, and dropped a screw on one of the prongs.  It woke me up.  110 doesn't bother me much.

[AKcharger]

110/120, whatever it taskes

[FLG]

Anyone ever touch one of those neon signs?? 

[JB400]

Anyone ever touch one of those neon signs?? 

I have the scar on my wrist from one that was broke.

[Fred]

Anyone ever touch one of those neon signs?? 

I have the scar on my wrist from one that was broke.

I don't.

[2Gunz]

If your house is wired properly one side of the plug will zap you and the other wont.  If you notice the slots of the plug in the one slot is bigger. Thats supposed to be the Neutral. In theory you should be able to touch that side and not get zapped. The other side is the hot side and you will get zapped if you touch it.  If its not wired right you will get zapped............in some cases the Neutral can be hot and you would get zapped either way. Older houses are really bad about this, Houses with fuse boxes and not breakers.  Take a fuse out and your plug in goes dead.............go to change the plug in and get your ass zapped because they wired it wrong! Its best not to mess with it.

IN my antique vacuum tube radio hobby  a lot of the old sets had one side of the cord/plug in wired to the metal chassis and the other side to a switch, Depending on how it was plugged in or how the house was wired the radio can be turned off and you can still get zapped as the chassis is hot even though the radio is off. Reach under to move it and touch a screw on the bottom thats securing the metal chassis to the bakelight (plastic) or wood case and zappp!!!


Todd

Todd is correct.     

[JB400]

Anyone ever touch one of those neon signs?? 

I have the scar on my wrist from one that was broke.

I don't.

Would you like one?

[chargd72]

It depends on how WELL GROUNDED you are.  You need current to feel the effects of voltage.  Like someone else said, path of least resistance.

[skip68]

You can be insulated and not get zapped.  But have your buddy standing on the ground touch it.   

[RECHRGD]

Years ago I made a rat trap using a metal feeding plate wired up to a neon ballast.  I think it was around 22,000 volts.  I wanted to see them explode, but they sensed the high voltage and wouldn't go near it.  Hooked it up to 120 volts without the ballast and it was the end of the rat problem....