• We’re currently investigating an issue related to the forum theme and styling that is impacting page layout and visual formatting. The problem has been identified, and we are actively working on a resolution. There is no impact to user data or functionality, this is strictly a front-end display issue. We’ll post an update once the fix has been deployed. Thanks for your patience while we get this sorted.

PSA: Don't put a plugged-in IPOD Charging Cable in your mouth *new update*

Page 3 - Seeking answers? Join the AnandTech community: where nearly half-a-million members share solutions and discuss the latest tech.
guyver01 said:
They also say a floor lamp was nearby that Trinity could have touched at the same time.



"The presence of other burns other than her mouth raise some interesting questions as to what else was she touching, because just the USB cord alone would not account for say a burn on the fingers," Foley said.
Click to expand...

Sounds like the cord was a ground and the child touched something "lit up" with 120VAC. Table lamps don't have grounded cords nor are their circuits protected by GFCI. If a wiring fault was present (reversed neutral and ground) or an unpolarized plug inserted the wrong way and the lamp became energized this is definitely possible. Most rooms are carpeted and well isolated from ground so people touching them would have no idea there would be a hazard present. A charging cable in the mouth with a shield at ground potential is a very good path. Touch something hot and that would hurt - a lot! 😱
 
Well I just touched my iPhone adapter to my tongue and nothing happened............

But that is beside the point. It is not the responsibility of a manufacturer to make a product that a 2 year old can't put in their mouth. That is a the responsibility of the parent.
 
Rubycon said:
Sounds like the cord was a ground and the child touched something "lit up" with 120VAC. Table lamps don't have grounded cords nor are their circuits protected by GFCI. If a wiring fault was present (reversed neutral and ground) or an unpolarized plug inserted the wrong way and the lamp became energized this is definitely possible. Most rooms are carpeted and well isolated from ground so people touching them would have no idea there would be a hazard present. A charging cable in the mouth with a shield at ground potential is a very good path. Touch something hot and that would hurt - a lot! 😱
Click to expand...
I was going to write this but then you did!
You're perfectly right, this had to be what happened.
 
Could be... but all of my laptops have two wire power cords - so they're floating, and completely isolated. You'd need one with earth tied to "laptop ground".
 
Colt45 said:
Could be... but all of my laptops have two wire power cords - so they're floating, and completely isolated. You'd need one with earth tied to "laptop ground".
Click to expand...

I just tried an experiment since I was curious about this.

I used a 8VDC adapter, plugged it in, and confirmed that it wsa 8 volts with my volt meter. I then proceeded to take one of the leads and put it directly into the socket. I got 16 volts. Maybe somehow this is what happened but it was a higher voltage. Considering half the circuit is AC and the other half is DC that can probably make some interesting results.
 
guyver01 said:
"The energy can cause tissue damage and burn damage," Foley said.
But Foley says he's never seen this serious of a low-voltage injury.
The family says Trinity experienced wounds on her fingers when the electric shock exited her body.

They also say a floor lamp was nearby that Trinity could have touched at the same time.

That combination, Foley says, could have created a perfect storm of electrical conditions.

"The presence of other burns other than her mouth raise some interesting questions as to what else was she touching, because just the USB cord alone would not account for say a burn on the fingers," Foley said.
Click to expand...
Doh....yeah, stuff they didn't mention in the original article. Blaming technology is more fun than blaming a defective lamp.
A usb cord in your mouth isn't going to burn your fingers, unless you are immune to physics.
 
Rubycon said:
Sounds like the cord was a ground and the child touched something "lit up" with 120VAC. Table lamps don't have grounded cords nor are their circuits protected by GFCI. If a wiring fault was present (reversed neutral and ground) or an unpolarized plug inserted the wrong way and the lamp became energized this is definitely possible. Most rooms are carpeted and well isolated from ground so people touching them would have no idea there would be a hazard present. A charging cable in the mouth with a shield at ground potential is a very good path. Touch something hot and that would hurt - a lot! 😱
Click to expand...

Any power line worker will tell you, "it's got no bite without a ground."
 
It's The Current That Kills

While any amount of current over 10 milliamps (0.01 amp) is capable of producing painful to severe shock, currents between 100 and 200 mA (0.1 to 0.2 amp) are lethal. Currents above 200 milliamps (0.2 amp), while producing severe burns and unconsciousness, do not usually cause death if the victim is given immediate attention. Resuscitation, consisting of artificial respiration, will usually revive the victim.
Click to expand...
DEATH occurs at 100 mA and greater (some health manual may state that death may occurs at 90 mA, other may state that death may occurs as little as 40-50 mA in people that have heath conditions).

Yes it is not a good idea o leave electrical receptacles unprotected if you have young children and/or pets.
 
Last edited:
Typical amperage inside a computer is quite high, and I don't think nobody has ever died by touching live wires inside a PC. The voltage is too low, so it can't "pump" the current through your skin. I'm pretty sure voltage plays a role too, amperage just plays a bigger role.

If you put a paper clip in a socket and are grounded, what determines the current anyway? I don't think it would be the breaker size of that circuit, does not really make sense that it would be that, the breaker is just a device that is programmed to shut off when a certain current is reached, it does not actually provide current. If you touch the leads of a turned off switch to a high current appliance it's probably more deadly then a direct shock.
 
Last edited:
iGas said:
It's The Current That Kills

DEATH occurs at 100 mA and greater (some health manual may state that death may occurs at 90 mA, other may state that death may occurs as little as 40-50 mA in people that have heath conditions).

Yes it is not a good idea o leave electrical receptacles unprotected if you have young children and/or pets.
Click to expand...
I was screwing around with a Fluke 45 a few days ago and it said the resistance from my left hand to my right hand is approximately 500,000 ohms. Obviously it takes quite a bit of voltage to hurt a human. This is why I can touch both terminals of a car battery capable of putting out 1000A and not even feel it. This is also why your hand doesn't completely disintegrate if you accidentally touch the prongs when unplugging something.

If you put a paper clip in a socket and are grounded, what determines the current anyway?
Click to expand...
Current is determined by 3 things:
1 - voltage and resistance in the load
2 - internal resistance of the power source
3 - breaker/fuse size

Humans are very high resistance, so 2 and 3 are ignored and your shock is limited entirely by voltage. If you're looking at a low resistance circuit like shorting a paper clip across a AA battery, the current is limited by the internal resistance of the AA battery. If your circuit has low resistance (paper clip) and your power source has low resistance (house wires) then the only limiting factor is the breaker at 15A. If the 15A breaker fails to trip, a paper clip in the wall can be pulling hundreds or thousands of amps. At 120V and maybe 1 ohm resistance, the total fault power would be over 14kW and the house will start on fire as a result.
(this is why you should never buy shitty breakers or fuses!)

Any power line worker will tell you, "it's got no bite without a ground."
Click to expand...
A line to line fault is 3x worse than a line to ground fault.

If you touch the leads of a turned off switch to a high current appliance it's probably more deadly then a direct shock.
Click to expand...
I might be reading this wrong, but I think you have this backwards. Turning stuff on isn't too dangerous, but turning stuff off can be incredibly dangerous due to induction. Inductors act as constant current sources, so a sudden disconnect can cause extremely high voltage. Suppose you're hooking up a 120V motor that is drawing 100A of current. While it's connected, you touching the hot terminals will shock you for the regular 120V which will put much less than 1A through your body. If you happen to be touching those terminals just as the motor is turned off, the motor will try to pump 100A of current through you since you are now the only thing closing that circuit. Induction is why disconnecting a circuit causes arcing. Trying to stop a high current will generate a voltage large enough to ionize the air.
More information about this effect is on wikipedia's flyback diode page
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flyback_diode
 
RedSquirrel said:
If you put a paper clip in a socket and are grounded, what determines the current anyway?
Click to expand...
V=IR
I=V/R

Find the resistance of the paper clip (which will be very low), and you'll know what the max current could be.
After that, the limiting factors would be:
- Size of the paper clip and thermal effects due to the large current load. Too much heat, and the clip melts.
- The circuit breaker's limit.
 
Jeff7 said:
V=IR
I=V/R

Find the resistance of the paper clip (which will be very low), and you'll know what the max current could be.
After that, the limiting factors would be:
- Size of the paper clip and thermal effects due to the large current load. Too much heat, and the clip melts.
- The circuit breaker's limit.
Click to expand...

Actually what I meant is if you were to put the paper clip in only the hot lead, then touch it, or put another in the neutral and touch both. You are getting shocked but there is no actual load, would this still apply? So you would basically calculate the resistance of all the wiring including your body and that's the amperage you're getting hit with?
 
I'm calling shens...

I've gotten shocked a bunch of times, the only way this could have happened is 120V AC.

The parent is a dolt and doesn't know the difference between 120V AC and a USB cord...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Back
Top