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Name: Anthony
Status: student
Age: 15
Location: N/A
Country: N/A
Date: 1999
Question:
I have a quetion about electrical current. Which kills, voltage or amperage? My friends father says that it is possible to have a very high voltage if the amperage is low,and that is how stun guns are made. Is this true and could you possibly explain the principles to me?

Replies:
Amperage. The amount of current determines the effect; the voltage and the resistance of the path through the body determine the current. Currents much below 100 mA are uncomfortable, but not life threatening; currents around 100 mA can cause fibrillation, a chaotic, unproductive heart rhythm that persists after the current is removed and is fatal unless very prompt treatment is given; currents much above 100 mA can lock up the heart without causing fibrillation and cause serious burns.

Tim Mooney


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