‘This is not the way to go.’ Two intruders incinerated by 24,000 volts, police say

Star-Telegram ^ | December 29, 2017 | Don Sweeney

[Eddie01]

good point.

Unclear, but I assumed it wasn’t a hand to foot situation but more a (smoldering) shoulder to shoulder deal.

also, I should have represented the transformer and added a ground symbol. my bad.

[NorthMountain]

The resistance of skin under normal conditions is 1609 Ohms per square cm. According to ANSI F1396.5, in cases like this one should assume a contact area of 0.6 square cm. With a voltage drop of 24000 Volts, this would push the Amps to 11.

I get the Spinal Tap reference ... I also get I=V/R = 24.8 Amps. They were (briefly) dissipating 597kW.

[sphinx]

Actually, it’s probably a pretty good way to go. But not so much for whoever has to clean up.

[SES1066]

Trespassing crimes are generally of low interest but in this case the media is as energized as the subjects. A classic example of a short circuit in action.

[Sirius Lee]

Punishment does not fit the crime.

It's not about the evidence, but rather the seriousness of the charges.

[NorthMountain]

a (smoldering) shoulder to shoulder deal.

;'] Parallel it is, then.

[Bonemaker]

Love the dit dah dit. Got a general license when 5 wpm Morse was required. Haven’t kept up.

[Vaquero]

Granted.

I have been known to build and work on internal combustion engines. The ignition coil will produce and zap you with 40,000 V of spark (in tiny milliamps). It is no fun. I hate when that happens. But a busy mechanic will get zapped semi regularly.

[PAR35]

Lots of good ones on the thread, but you get my vote.

[Passaic]

will save the taxpayers money, no more thefts, jail, etc.

[Vaquero]

I was suggesting the title of the article indicated nothing of the sort

[LouieFisk]

you get my vote.
—
“volt”, you mean!

[Eddie01]

there. fixed it.

[WayneS]

We can’t fix stupid, but 24,000 volts can...

[Eddie01]

Was working off this data.

https://van.physics.illinois.edu/qa/listing.php?id=6793

[Eddie01]

In reality, it was a bit of a voltage divider considering they both didn’t touch the transformer at the same time.

Difficult to say without pics showing where the second thief was grabbing the one who touched the transformer.

[Eddie01]

I bet lights in the neighborhood flickered briefly.

Triggered an alarm.

[Revel]

How long before the family of the victim files a lawsuit claiming the lock on the door was not secure enough?

[null and void]

It wasn’t clear to me from the article whether they were in series or in parallel ...

It was Huge and Series...

[GingisK]

Only the current does the damage. The voltage pushes that through. I’ve been hit with 30,000 volts from an automobile ignition system that couldn’t deliver the required current. That is why I still live. I assume you understand that.