MadSci Network: Biophysics |
Don, It's a very showy video, but their observational controls are nonexistent. In truth, there's no way to actually know what's going on there, and my first thought is that this was an elaborate hoax, as I've seen illusions performed to similar effect by magicians on stage. The skin resistances measured with the multimeter are within normal range, depending on the individual and the amount of sweat on the skin surface. It's possible to survive electrical current, even high levels of current, but typically those instances are impulsive current such as short- duration lightning strikes or high-frequency power. In those cases, body impedence is higher than skin resistance and the charge tends to stay on the body's surface. 240 volt mains don't fall into either category, but it might be speculated that the person in the video has a very large internal impedence. But without actually measuring what's happening under controlled conditions, there just is no way to say. The conventional wisdom of electrical shock is discussed at length on Wikipedia, and some further interesting bits are preneted by OSHA, All About Circuits and, for the case of lightning discharge, some of my Mad Scientist colleagues.
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