Shock
I was looking at this issue of Popular Electronics from January 1972:
https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-Poptronics/70s/1972/Pop-1972-01.pdf
I downloaded it by accident (wanted another magazine from January 1972) but as I paged through it this single page article caught my eye:
Knowing the levels of current required for the various body responses (including DEATH) is interesting intellectually but the main thing is to develop good habits when it comes to working with electricity.
The next page of the issue is an article about medical electronics - one thing that occurs to me is that electrical experimenters and project builders should avoid at all costs is connecting the body to something like an home made pulse counter UNLESS the circuit is powered by low voltage batteries. And an "AC Adapter" shouldn't be used either. Medical gear is expensive for a reason, it is as safe as they can make it !
BTW the only experiences I've ever had with involuntary muscle contraction is a charley horse (which was probably due to not drinking enough water). Uncontrolled muscle contraction is PAINFUL and is a kind of paralysis. It must be so much worse to be electrocuted !
The article reminded me of one in QST from August of 1967 on pdf page 56:
https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-DX/QST/60s/QST-1967-08.pdf
I'm not sure if having these Gil cartoons is good or bad:
On one hand it might trivialize the subject but on the other, it makes it more memorable ?
I remember a science fiction story called: Cattle Trucks by Fred Hoyle (found in the book Element 79). It's really more of a fable but the main character of the story considers human beings to be: "ugly bags of salt water". That's important when considering shock because any puncture of the skin and yikes, you are a relatively low value resistor. Sweat is conductive and if it happens to be your feet sweating in contact with ground then that potentially deadly path through your heart can become a reality.
I have blogged on this topic before:
https://wb9kzy.blogspot.com/2022/08/the-black-box-warning.html
but at the risk of degenerating into sloganeering, it is important to revisit the subject periodically. I have pretty much abandoned using voltages above 13.8 volts (tube circuits) but in a power supply there is always the much higher AC line voltage.
Best Regards,
Chuck, WB9KZY
http://wb9kzy.com/ham.htm
