Will I die?

Antar Bolaeisk said:
It's amazing the amount of people here who think the voltage will kill you when in fact it's the current. Just so you know a static shock from a carpet can be a couple of thousand volts, it just has very little in the way of current.

I think it's anything above .1A can be lethal.


Dunks said it best:
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its not really that amazing. voltage in the device you touch is still very relevant. you need both to kill you

its the current passing through your heart that kills you and if you are healthy then a 5 volts low current usb stick is not going to manage it.

for example a higher current device wont beat your natural resistance if theres no voltage with it
 
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It's only 5v and around 500ma so you could lick it without barely feeling anything - you'll be fine.
 
Turn it into chewsb

usbchew.jpg
 
OzyOly said:
Same, though my arm *really* hurt for hours. :(
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Volts don't kill. Volts are just the ability of an electrical source to drive current over a given resistant load. V = I x R, and it's I, the current, that kills. The human body has a resistance of somewhere in the region of 300-1000 ohms, so a 240v supply can push somewhere between 0.24 and 0.8 amps through you. However, the key thing is that electricity will take the lath of least resistance, which is probably over your skin rather than through you, and almost certainly nowhere near your heart, unless you're holding one lead in either hand.

So while 5v could drive sufficient current to kill you, it'd have to be going straight through your heart, which just isn't going to happen. Likewise, the 500mA that USB can deliver is plenty to kill you, but it just isn't going to make it through your skin because of the aforementioned low voltage and the fact that there's probably a simpler route for the current to take than through your heart.
 
Just yank it out for god sake, nothing will happen, not even pins and needles.

I've got a USB drive with no cover at work, I use it all the time.
 
Just have a phone handy with 999 already entered?

If it all goes wrong make sure you press dial.

Or you could go to your local hospital and remove it there.

Guess they may admit you to the psychiatric unit though
 
Make sure you lick it first, the saliva from your tongue will insulate it. :rolleyes:
 
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