About electrocution when being wet

[fluidistic]

Say I just took my shower and I touched something like a metal part of a light bulb or something and I get electrocuted... Why did I get electrocuted? The answer seems simple, there was a non zero potential where I touched and thus a current flew through my internal organs and it eventually killed me.
Now why did the current took this path? Water from a shower contains ions and its resistance seems much, much lesser than my wet skin's one or the one of my internal organs. Why do the current take the body path in this case? I guess it takes both but it seems like it passes more inside the body than on its surface... kind of non intuitive.
I'd like an explanation. Thanks.

 

[Averagesupernova]

You don't think your inards contain enough minerals to be a good conductor? The reason that we are told to avoid handling electrical items when wet is because the moist skin provides easier entrance and exit for the current.

 

[dlgoff]

When I worked for a electric utility, we had contractors that built and repaired our high voltage transmission lines. There were people killed by making contact (getting too close) but it wasn't from electrocution. The high potential caused the power to pass around the outside of the body. The deaths were caused by burns from their cloths instantly being burned off them.

 

[fluidistic]

Thanks to both for the replies.

You don't think your inards contain enough minerals to be a good conductor? The reason that we are told to avoid handling electrical items when wet is because the moist skin provides easier entrance and exit for the current.

What do you mean by "inards"? I tried google translate but it failed to give me any word.

So if I understand well the wet skin allows current to pass through inside our body. Therefore it's equivalent to say that the water over our skin has a greater resistance (much greater in fact) than our internal organs and even 2 parts of skin (enterance and exit of current path).
I've checked there http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_resistance_value_of_human_body that our internal body has around 10 to 200 ohm resistance. Adding the wet skin it should go up by maybe a same factor or even more.
Thus, water of a shower must have a very high resistance (compared to say 1000 ohm) if the current path is around 1.5 m.

I hope I understood well.

 

[Averagesupernova]

Am I to understand that you think the skin getting wet INCREASES the resistance? Adding water only lowers the resistance in just about any case I know of.

 

[fluidistic]

Am I to understand that you think the skin getting wet INCREASES the resistance? Adding water only lowers the resistance in just about any case I know of.

No.
According to the website, a dry skin has a resistance between 1000 and 10000 ohm.
In my previous post I "said" that the path: wet skin/internal body/wet skin is roughly about 1000 ohm approximately. Therefore much less than dry skin. So resistance decreases when skin is wet.

 

[sophiecentaur]

Is there some confusion here?
Fresh water has a fair few ions available.
If a wet body makes contact between two different potentials, the wetness will lower the contact resistance (series) with the skin (small gap / big area with lower resistance than dry skin contact). However, the path around the outside (parallel), via a metre or so of a thin water layer has a higher resistance than the path through your (low resistance - full of available ions) body fluids. So the current will flow, mostly, through you.

 

[fluidistic]

Sorry if I wasn't being clear.

Is there some confusion here?
Fresh water has a fair few ions available.
If a wet body makes contact between two different potentials, the wetness will lower the contact resistance (series) with the skin (small gap / big area with lower resistance than dry skin contact). However, the path around the outside (parallel), via a metre or so of a thin water layer has a higher resistance than the path through your (low resistance - full of available ions) body fluids. So the current will flow, mostly, through you.

It confirms my thoughts that Averagesupernova induced me. Thus no, no confusion but your explanation is greatly appreciated. It's a confirmation so any possible doubt is kept away.

 

[sophiecentaur]

Some surprisingly low voltages can give lethal shocks with the right (wrong?) conditions of contact resistance.

 

[Wetmelon]

I guess the safe thing to say here is when working with voltage, never be grounded!

 

[Averagesupernova]

One hand in the pocky and you won't get a shocky. That's what we were told in school.

 

[fedaykin]

You certainly can receive a shock with one hand in your pocket. The rule is to help prevent you from getting a hand to hand shock which is generally nastier than a hand to foot. It's harder to have a hand on ground when one is in your pocket.