Shock with switch off..

Jul 26, 2004 42 Replies

AC resistance is different from DC resistance. A multimeter measures DC resistance. A neon bulb passes AC without much resistance, even if it has a high DC resistance.

This is not a constant. Dry skin resistance is much higher than wet skin resistance. Current is determined by the resistance to the applied voltage, AC or DC. I don't want my body to substitute for a neon bulb, no way.

Resistance is resistance. AC *impedance* is different from DC resistance.

In any event, a device with an internal 150 K-ohm resistor does not meet any reasonable definition of a very low resistance device, as was claimed.

Quite true. The individual to whom I was responding seems to believe that the human body has such a high resistance to electricity that very little current can pass through it, and seems also to be unaware that 120VAC

60Hz can be fatal even at currents of a few tens of milliamperes, given the right (wrong?) circumstances.

A non activated neon lamp has (for all practical purposes) infinite resistance; A neon lamp is a variety of a 'gas discharge' device. These do no not conduct (i.e. have high resistance) until sufficient voltage (typically IIRC 70+ volts peak?) across them to cause the gas to conduct. Whereupon, depending on the type and mixture of gases they tend to adopt a typical voltage across the discharge. This property is made use of in gas filled voltage regulator tubes which were/are frequently used in tube electronics. Also gas discharge (commonly neon) used in timing circuits and for voltage protection devices.

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