Journal t_allardyce's Journal: Can you electricute yourself with human power? 1
Since the recent black-outs in America, i just wondered if it would be possible to electrocute yourself using say a bicycle powered generator. This would prove vital if there were any executions scheduled during the blackout.
Of course if you had several generators and people to power them you could easily kill someone. Thats pretty boring though - im talking about one generator, one person, a self contained execution.
If you used some sort of storage device eg. a capacitor, you could charge up for a certain amount of time and then be able to enjoy your stored up energy, this is also pretty straight forward.
So the main question is, given a choice of generators - AC or DC, and no energy storage, is it possible to kill yourself?
Looking around the net gives varying quotes on lethal current, i will settle at about 100mA. Resistance is another question - it varies allot, ive seen figures from as low as 400 ohms to 1Mohm.
The average human can hand crank about 50W, peddle constantly at 100-150W, and just about manage to get up to 400-500W for a short period of time. This is all guessing and bad estimation. It doesnt seem to far out that 400W could kill you (step up transformers are allowed btw).
Any ideas? This would be a boon to 3rd world countries that want electrocution without the fuss!
As a mechanical engineer (Score:2)
The very notion sound preposterous!
Also, 100 W via pedal power is quite significant, even those who are physically fit would have a hard time sustaining a 150 W output.
When electricity is out, simply revert to old-fashioned methods. (Hanging, stoning, beheading:) They are all much less energy intensive.