[Jukebox-list] Grounding Issue

[Crispin Murray]

Following on from what Wes has said, 50 v is sufficient potential to enable
enough current to flow to stop the heart (in fact people 40 v is just about
enough).
However do bear in mind the internal resistance of batteries etc. which will
cause the voltage to drop (and therefore the ability of current to flow), or
other limitations within a power supply if you want to try this out at home!
(Actually please don't try this at home).
When I used to work for for a major broadcasting organisation we used to
have a separate 50 v DC supply (with battery backup - lots of them!) to hold
all the relays for switching studios, networks, feeds etc., so they were
immune to any minor disturbance in the mains supply. As Engineers we were
all made extremely aware that with virtually no resistance (or current
limiting) within this supply, it had the potential (!) to prove fatal.

Crispin



From: Jens Hultgren <drjukebox at gmail.com>
Reply-To: Jukebox mailing list <jukebox-list at lists.netlojix.com>
Date: Sat, 6 May 2006 14:07:24 +0200
To: Jukebox mailing list <jukebox-list at lists.netlojix.com>
Subject: Re: [Jukebox-list] Grounding Issue

Just curious - how would I die from 50V DC?

     ;o) Jens

On 5/6/06, Crispin Murray <crispin at guilde.co.uk> wrote:
>
>
> I think you¹ll find it was Tesla who came up with 60 Hz 117 v, whilst
> Edison
> was  still persevering with 50 v DC - which unfortunately doesn't go very
> far, is lossy in cables, awkward to generate and distribute. This is why
> Tesla and Edison fell out, and why (I believe) Tesla's Power Station at
> Niagra Falls is still there and Edison's isn't.
> 50 v DC is also just enough to kill you, which is unfortunate because I
> think that was one of Edison main reason's for it.
> I'm NOT having a knock at Edison btw (I know he is a US national hero),
> after all it was him who started the whole record business off in the
> first
> place, and where would we all be without that!
>
> Crispin Murray
>
>
>
> From: Ron Rich <ronnnrich at yahoo.com>
> Reply-To: Jukebox mailing list <jukebox-list at lists.netlojix.com>
> Date: Fri, 5 May 2006 17:44:33 -0700 (PDT)
> To: Jukebox mailing list <jukebox-list at lists.netlojix.com>
> Subject: Re: [Jukebox-list] Grounding Issue
>
> Don't know if this is true--was once told that 60 Hz was chosen because at
> anything less, humans can see it in an incandesent light (I know I can
> sense
> it anytime I'm somewhere that uses 50 Hz). What I was told  was that
> Westinghouse, who "invented" (while one of Edsion's "tinker-ers") the  60
> Hz
> AC that we use today,   hated the "flicker" of less than 60Hz.
>   Ron Rich
>
>
>
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