| MadSci Network: Biophysics |
Generally mercury exists in human body as ions in cells. Mercury ions could conduct electric current, however, it should have not have significant effect on conductivity of the human body compared to some other ions like Na+ or Cl-, since other ions conduct electric current in almost the same way and their concentration is much higher than Mercury.
Therefore it is unlikely the phenominon you have observed is related to mercury concentration in human body. From what you have observed, we can deduce the following:
1. vibration: indicates it is related to the 60Hz electric power transmitted by the power line, similar vibration can be felt on a transformer.
2. body hairs sticking up: indicates electric charge build up on the body, which means the electric potential of the body is non zero, therefore the body is insulated from the ground. It's possible your daughter weared a pair of shoes which is good insulator, therefore she was not grounded.
3. this does not happen to you and your boy friend, and when you rubbed your hand on your daughter for a while it went away, and it didn't come back as long as you were touching her. This clearly indicates your shoes conduct electricity well, therefore you are grounded and electric potential is zero and the electric charge did not build up on you. When you touch your daughter, she is grounded through you and the electric charge will flow to ground and won't build up again.
In a summary, this phenonmenon is most probably caused by the strong electric field under the power line. When a person wears a pair of shoes or socks which are good insulator, the electric field induces electric current in the person. Since the person is not grounded, this current could cause local charge build up on body which makes body hair sticking up. Because the induced current is 60Hz AC, a vibration may be felt.
Another possibility is your daughter's skin was relatively dry and could not conduct electricity well, while your and your boy friend's skin is relatively wet. In this case, all of you were not well grounded, but the electric charge built up on you and your boy friend was discharged to air fast enough, therefore could not to be felt.
For more information about how mercury enter human body and how it exists in human body, please read http://www.cem.msu.edu/~cem181h/projects/97/mercury/
For more information about power lines, please read http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Electric_power_transmission
Try the links in the MadSci Library for more information on Biophysics.