Why won’t electrocution work?

[alexlynn74]

why wouldn't drying from electrocution actually work? I've seen stuff in the news where merely dropping a broken extension cord kills.

If I were to salt the water making it more conductive, by pass any GFCI outlet, and drop in multiple electronics from different plug, why wouldn't it work?

 

[Timothy7dff]

Good question.

 

[cursedbynature64]

I think you'd be far more likely to cause a fire and/or give yourself serious but non-lethal burns at worst, and trip a circuit breaker at best. I can't imagine anything you'd find in a house could be enough to kill you unless you got really lucky

 

[mehdone]

When it comes to electrocution, what matters is the amperage.

I've been shocked by house voltage multiple times accidentally, and clearly I am still alive.

Any normal house voltage, even bypassing a ground fault interrupt circuit, is going to pull more amperage than the breaker is rated for when it is shorted and throw it, causing the circuit to disconnect.

 

[theboy]

it works, but it has to be too much voltage for it to be effective. In addition, you have to know where to put the wires and the electrical device chosen must be good and powerful.

 

[thenamingofcats]

maybe lightening

 

[[..redacted..]]

It can work and there have been several case reports of deliberate suicide by electrocution. It can certainly be done. @Alex Fermentopathy posted two recently:

A suicide by electrocution performed by a medical professional, 2021 [+photos]

I have found that in my country I can purchase used defibrillator pads from just about 50 usd. That would probably be better than using just two wires as in my past electrocution thread...

sanctioned-suicide.net

A suicide by electrocution performed by an electrical engineer, 2022 [+photos].

The guy taped the wires with scotch to the left side of his chest and back so that the current would pass through the heart area. Photos in the article:

sanctioned-suicide.net

Generally though it's unreliable and potentially very painful, especially without some technical knowledge to bypass safeguards and make an effective circuit. With an AC power source it takes at least 30mA across the heart sustained for a second or longer to trigger ventricular fibrillation and death. Across the heart means hand-to-hand, hand-to-leg or directly across the chest. There's more technical detail in the following Wikipedia article:

Electrical injury - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

Accidents in bathrooms do happen and occasional fatalities are reported but the Hollywood trope of the toaster in the tub is a bit of a myth. It's unpredictable and depends on many factors including the wiring, plumbing, point of contact and individual physiology. Salting the water makes the water more conductive but doesn't necessarily increase the current passing through the person.

 

[Alex Fermentopathy]

bypass safeguards

RCD should not be a problem if all the current will go to the neutral wire, not to the ground.

 

[[..redacted..]]

RCD should not be a probled if all the current will go to the neutral wire, not to the ground.

Sure, but OP (and others who've asked) proposed throwing things into the tub, so there's a high chance of earth leakage... That's what I meant by some knowledge is required.

 

[Alex Fermentopathy]

Sure, but OP (and others who've asked) proposed throwing things into the tub, so there's a high chance of earth leakage... That's what I meant by some knowledge is required.

I think a person with knowledge will not use a bathtub method. It feels more like a woman's choice, not an electrician's one.

 

[[..redacted..]]

I think a person with knowledge will not use a bathtub method. It feels more like a woman's choice, not an electrician's one.

I wouldn't gender it but I'm guessing OP like most who raise the question isn't an electrician.

 

[Linda]

why wouldn't drying from electrocution actually work? I've seen stuff in the news where merely dropping a broken extension cord kills.

If I were to salt the water making it more conductive, by pass any GFCI outlet, and drop in multiple electronics from different plug, why wouldn't it work?

It will work if you put enough current through yourself. However what is "enough" is very variable, as it depends on muptiple factors, including your state of health. The higher the voltage, the greater the current. (That's Ohm's law, which you might remember from school.) The voltage from an ordinary socket in a house is quite low (usually 110 volts in the US, around 240 volts in much of Europe). That can be fatal, and people have died that way, but usually it's just unpleasant. You can increase the current, for a given voltage, by ensuring that the current has an easy path from the socket, through you, to the earth. (Ohm's Law, again). For example, you could hold a metal fence post. The idea of using water is to create such a path, but it's a bit hit and miss. To be sure of dying you need a higher voltage, such as the high voltages in overhead transmission cables.
Using multiple plugs in parallel won't make any difference, as you would be exposing yourself to exactly the same voltage as if you used only one plug.

 

[momento.mori]

That's sounds very risky and painful. I couldn't imagine trying that method. That's stuff you see in the movies

 

[Alex Fermentopathy]

I like this method because the damage goes directly to the heart (if set correctly). So it seems highly unlikely that you will end up with damaged brain but healthy enough heart.

 

[[..redacted..]]

You can increase the current, for a given voltage, by ensuring that the current has an easy path from the socket, through you, to the earth. (Ohm's Law, again). For example, you could hold a metal fence post.

This will definitely trigger any ground fault protection (RCD or GFCI). You would be better off ensuring a path through you from live to neutral as in the cases @Alex Fermentopathy referenced.

To be sure of dying you need a higher voltage, such as the high voltages in overhead transmission cables.

A surprisingly high number of people survive contact with overhead power lines, even at relatively very high voltages. In the case you do survive severe burns and injuries from falling from height are very likely.

 

[Timothy7dff]

There's a Breaking Bad scene where a guy CTB from some sort of electric device (defibrillator?)

 

[thetruetato]

why wouldn't drying from electrocution actually work? I've seen stuff in the news where merely dropping a broken extension cord kills.

If I were to salt the water making it more conductive, by pass any GFCI outlet, and drop in multiple electronics from different plug, why wouldn't it work?

Depending on what electrical system you have, it's likely the breaker will automatically shut off. Even if it doesn't, it's still not very likely to work and could simply cause unnecessary pain just to end up right where you started (or worse)

 

[Beyond_Repair]

maybe lightening

apparently 90% of people who have been struck by lightning have survived, so even that's not a sure thing. Electrocution as a whole seems pretty unreliable

 

[mehdone]

It will work if you put enough current through yourself. However what is "enough" is very variable, as it depends on muptiple factors, including your state of health. The higher the voltage, the greater the current. (That's Ohm's law, which you might remember from school.) The voltage from an ordinary socket in a house is quite low (usually 110 volts in the US, around 240 volts in much of Europe). That can be fatal, and people have died that way, but usually it's just unpleasant. You can increase the current, for a given voltage, by ensuring that the current has an easy path from the socket, through you, to the earth. (Ohm's Law, again). For example, you could hold a metal fence post. The idea of using water is to create such a path, but it's a bit hit and miss. To be sure of dying you need a higher voltage, such as the high voltages in overhead transmission cables.
Using multiple plugs in parallel won't make any difference, as you would be exposing yourself to exactly the same voltage as if you used only one plug.

I'm sorry, but as an electronics nerd, I feel the need to correct this.
Higher voltage does not mean higher current/amperage.
As I said in my previous response, it is the amperage that will kill you- this is why a taser, which might be rated at 50,000v+ (far higher than house voltage at 110v or 220v) won't kill you unless you have a heart condition- because even though it is a very high voltage, it is low amperage.

 

[soonatpeace777888]

Horrendously painful death. Being electrocuted is such a bizarre and horrible pain.

 

[Linda]

I'm sorry, but as an electronics nerd, I feel the need to correct this.
Higher voltage does not mean higher current/amperage.
As I said in my previous response, it is the amperage that will kill you- this is why a taser, which might be rated at 50,000v+ (far higher than house voltage at 110v or 220v) won't kill you unless you have a heart condition- because even though it is a very high voltage, it is low amperage.

I clearly stated in my post that it's current that matters.
However, for a given total resistance of the system - and that is implied in OP's case, because he was talking about wall sockets - a higher voltage obviously means a higher current. A taser must, I presume, have a high internal resistance. (Or, perhaps, just a low ability to generate charge, which would also lead to low sustained current.)
I once saw a kid at school get hooked up to a van de Graaf generator (about 500,000 volts), and come to no harm, just a very mild shock. That was done to demonstrate to us exactly the point you are making: voltage itself is not what matters.
My bachelors degree was in physics, and I also have a PhD. On this topic I know what I'm talking about.