Reconciling an apparent contradiction about transformers

[fourthindiana]

Residential air-conditioners universally have a low voltage side and a high voltage side. The low voltage side of a residential air-conditioner is 24 volts. The high voltage side of a residential air-conditioner is 220/230/240 volts.
I have heard several people say that a shock from the low voltage side of an air-conditioner is not dangerous. Some people say that one can barely even feel a shock from the low voltage side of an air-conditioner. I've heard other people say that a shock from the low voltage electrical parts in an air-conditioner can hurt someone, but it's extremely unlikely that a shock from the low voltage parts in an air-conditioner would kill someone. These same people who say that a shock from the low voltage electrical parts in an air-conditioner would hurt but not kill someone also pointed out that a shock from the high voltage electrical parts in an air-conditioner is far more likely to kill someone than a shock from the low voltage side of an air-conditioner.
There are two statements I have heard/read about transformers that seem to contradict this idea that a shock from the low voltage side of an air-conditioner would be less dangerous than a shock from the high voltage side. The first statement is that a step down transformer steps down the voltage and increases the current the same amount that the voltage was decreased, which leaves the power or wattage the same on both side of the transformer. The second statement is that it is the current, not the voltage, that hurts and/or kills a person who is shocked by electrical current.
If the current (as opposed to the voltage) is what is harmful to people who are shocked by electrical current, and if the current is higher on the low voltage side of the air-conditioner than on the high voltage side of the air-conditioner, why is an electrical shock from the low voltage side of an air-conditioner less harmful than a shock from the high voltage side of a residential air-conditioner?

 

[phinds]

You misunderstand how electricity works. The low voltage side has more current CAPACITY but since it's being driven by a low voltage very little of that current flows through a human body. The output of a transformer does not put out the amount of current it is capable of putting out unless it is hooked to a sufficiently low resistance. If it is hooked to a high resistance, it puts out a low current. Study Ohm's Law.

 

[fourthindiana]

You misunderstand how electricity works. The low voltage side has more current CAPACITY but since it's being driven by a low voltage very little of that current flows through a human body. The output of a transformer does not put out the amount of current it is capable of putting out unless it is hooked to a sufficiently low resistance. If it is hooked to a high resistance, it puts out a low current. Study Ohm's Law.

I think that you basically answered this question in your third sentence. Before I read your post, I thought that the output of a transformer did put out the amount of current it is capable of putting out.

Here is my new understanding of this. Let me give an example. In my example, we have a residential air-conditioner in which the high voltage side of the air-conditioner is 240 volts, and the low voltage side of the air-conditioner is 24 volts. Person A gets shocked by the high voltage side of the air-conditioner. Person B gets shocked by the low voltage side of the air-conditioner. Both person A and person B are equally dry. Person A gets shocked with a current of 240 volts divided by 500,000 Ohms of body resistance. Person A gets shocked with .00048 amps. Person B gets shocked with a current of 24 volts divided by 500,000 Ohms of body resistance. Person B gets shocked with .000048 amps. Therefore, the person shocked by the high voltage side of the air-conditioner gets shocked with 10 times as much current as the person shocked by the low voltage side of the air-conditioner. Is my new understanding of why it is more dangerous to get shocked by high voltage than low voltage essentially correct?

 

[phinds]

Yes.