4 ms·

Note that I am not encouraging you to conduct this experiment :) You are correct that there will be at least 60V that exists between your body and at least one

Note that I am not encouraging you to conduct this experiment :) You are correct that there will be at least 60V that exists between your body and at least one of the wires from the generator. What isn’t guaranteed to exist is a low impedance loop for that current to flow through your body back to the generator. You’re in bare feet on the concrete, but the generator has a plastic body with rubber feet. People repeat that old “it’s the current that kills you” line and often in a misguided and dangerous way, but it’s actually true in this case. If there’s no way for the current to flow back to the generator, the voltage on its own will likely not do much. If you were to touch both wires while wearing rubber gloves, you’d be in a similar situation. 120V exists across your body, but because the gloves have a very high resistance, no current can flow (I=V/R)

gowld 7y ago
"it’s the current that kills you" isn't the relevant point. The point is that the current through your body that kills you (specifically, the current through your heart, not merely through your fingertipes). Touching a high-current wire doesn't send high current through your body (same as high-voltage across your body) unless there is a circuit (as you correctly wrote).