Why is Electricity Dangerous?

We are told our entire lives that electricity is dangerous and that it can kill us. But have you ever stopped to ask yourself what is it about electricity that can kill us? After all, there are lots of things in nature that don’t harm us, such as water and air. So why electricity?

Delta Electrical is a commercial electrician in Jackson. We can help you with all of your electrical service needs, such as wiring a new construction home, helping with your aging warehouse electrical panel, and ensuring your industrial electric is working properly. If you have a problem in your office space with electrical issues, give us a call first. Below, we’ll take an in-depth look at what makes electricity so dangerous to the human body. Contact us today for your commercial electrical needs!

WHY IS ELECTRICITY SO DANGEROUS?

Inside our bodies (and the bodies of most living things), there’s electricity in the form of electrical currents. In fact, we wouldn’t be able to function without them. If you remember back to your high school or college chemistry class, you learned that all elements have specific charges, including the elements inside our bodies, which include minerals such as sodium, calcium, magnesium, and the like. The cells in our bodies use these charges, called ions, to generate small amounts of electricity.

Your heart uses electricity to help the muscles contract and pump blood throughout your body. This is what an electrocardiogram (ECG) measures and why an automated external defibrillator (AED) works. An AED delivers an electrical charge, targeting these electrical currents inside your heart in order to get them working again. There are electrical signals flowing up and down your nervous system all the time, telling it to contract muscles when you want to run, sit, or lay down. These electrical currents flow lightning fast in our nervous system, allowing us to do pretty much everything we desire. The human body is designed to allow electricity to flow easily.

However, the electrical currents that our bodies produce are extremely small compared to the electricity produced by huge power grids.

The Human Body and Electricity

That being said, the human body is not a perfect conductor for electricity like wires are. Thus, when it encounters an outside electrical current, your body resists it. Resisting electrical current generates heat in proportion to the charge received. This is why if you come in contact with an electrical charge, burns can be sustained. These burns can even cause gangrene and necrosis, which is why limbs have to be amputated sometimes.

Since your body is not designed to handle these huge electrical currents, an outside electrical charge upsets the balance, which can interrupt the flow of your natural electrical currents, including those to your heart. This can cause the heart to stop beating all together, causing death from electrocution.

This is not always the case though. Electricity seeks the quickest path to the ground, so depending on which part of your body is hit with the electrical charge, your heart may be bypassed altogether. Your muscles are also affected when hit with a powerful electrical charge. This is why sometimes people tighten their grip on electricity instead of letting it go. You can lose control of what your body is doing, and if the charge is powerful enough, this loss of control is permanent, causing complete paralysis. This is also why people struck by lightning on top of a mountain fall to their deaths. Electrical charges often lead to people falling since they can’t stand up on their own even more, which is often the cause of death instead of the electrical shock itself.

Thus, as you can see, electricity is dangerous, and now you know why. Human bodies are incredibly amazing, yet, when outside forces act, our bodies lose their ability to cope.

CHOOSING DELTA ELECTRICAL AS YOUR COMMERCIAL ELECTRICIAN OF CHOICE IN JACKSON

Whether you are involved in a major commercial building renovation, a new building project, or you need an electrical upgrade to an old building, Delta Electrical in Jackson can help. Boasting over fifteen years of serving Jackson, our commercial electricians are licensed, bonded, and insured. Reach out to our commercial electrical contractors today!