One question which has recently been interesting me is: Why exactly do people get thrown back when they are shocked by electricity.
I have done some research to find the answer to this, and i am yet too find an answer. My personal and initial speculations were that the phenomenon was related to muscle spasms, however i highly doubt that clenched muscles would produce such a result.
Some of the material i have come across, have mentioned that the phenomenon is restricted to only AC power as opposed to DC. Whilst interesting, exactly how electric power is converted to kinetic energy when an individual touches a live wire or socket still remains unknown to me.
To summarise:
– Is this entirely fictitious and not actual science, merely a by-product of Hollywood?
– Why do people go flying off when they touch a live wire?
– Is this restricted to AC currents?
– How is the electrical energy converted to kinetic energy which results in the victim flying?
I should also mention that my experience with physics is really limited to watching Brian Cox documentaries and basic knowledge/interest, this being said, please don't feel like you have to simplify anything; I am very interested.
Thanks in advance.
Best Answer
Essentially right. Luigi Galvani first noticed that, if a frog's legs were given an electric shock, they would twitch, even if the frog was dead. Same is true in live humans - bigger muscles, bigger twitch. Whether the shock throws you back or makes to grasp the conductor even tighter is probably a matter of luck - certainly any time I've had a shock from 250V mains AC, I've recoiled quite sharply. I don't imagine that DC would be much different. I've also used the 'back of the hand' technique but don't recommend it - a voltmeter is much safer.
Wiki 'Galvani' and 'electrophysiology' for much more info.