What happens when you stick something in an electrical outlet?
Question:This is a serious question and the reason why I ask is because I just caught my 2 year old trying to stick keys in one. It freaked me out and I'm just wondering what would of happened. I know it's 120VAC and she wasn't standing in a pile of water or anything like that. Would she would of just gotten zapped, or could of this been fatal?
Answers:
When I was a kid I stuck a screwdriver into a socket. It knocked me back like someone punched me and numbed my arm for hours. Yes, it certainly could kill her, but if it don't, it will teach her a blank-of-a lesson!
You'll be "shocked" when you discover the answer. lol.
What would have happened is the electrical current may have been weakened if the keys had those little plastic pieces at the end, but the electrical current would strike through her/his body, stun the heart, and leave through the floor. Be very careful, the person is young enough to die from it.
The kid would gotten a shock, it wouldn t kill her ...
Buy some plastic covers to stick into the socket.. You can find them in any hardware store or possibly Wal Mart
you need to buy outlet covers they sell them at home depot or Lowe's stores,she could get killed or seriously burned,i saw a child that stuck a hairpin in one and it left burn marks all aver her hands and face.
Could be fatal. The voltage would go through her arm and then to the floor. It could travel through her heart and stop it. A burn is also possible. Please get some of the plastic outlet guards to install in open outlets.
If you put a key in one hole normally nothing would happen. But if your child was able to put two keys in both holes at the same time she would get a heck of a shock. When I got one as an adult my arm contracted hard and slammed into the wall behind me.
I don't remember if the shock would have been fatal for a child her age. It sounds like it is outlet cover time.
Its deadly. You can buy plastic plugs from the hardware store that prevent little ones from sticking anything in them. Consider yourself lucky.
Standard three prong outlet= 2/3rds of the time nothing at all. 1/3rd of the time, though, it's the hot wire, carrying 120VAC, just looking for a ground to complete a circuit.
Depends upon many factors, luck not excluded, as to the intensity of the shock felt. A poor ground won't allow as much current to flow as a low resistance ground.
Sometimes standard household current has sufficient amperage to induce heart stoppage.
Get some kid-proof plugs.
When I was younger, I stuck a metal wire into an electrical outlet.
It shocked me (not painfully so) and a huge spark/flame came out turning a good part of my wall black and three of my fingernails were black for weeks. I imagine that you could burn a house down if the metal stays in the outlet.
I did that as a kid, and I eventually became an electrical engineer. Probably not related.
You've got a lot of good answers, and I can't really add much except to say that the amount of current and the path through the body determines the danger, not just the voltage. The current depends on a number of factors, including skin moisture. An electrical shock is not usually fatal. I have personally received a number of shocks over the years, including once in Europe where the voltage is 240 volts. That experience was definitely worse than here in the US.
The best thing to do is to cover unused receptacle outlets with the plastic plugs made for that purpose.
This could be fatal. Get some of the plastic covers and plug up the outlets you are not using. Better safe than sorry!
the answer if the question is serious is very simple, you could try to get technical all day long or just realize that electricity kills people everyday and a kid sticking an object in an outlet could get killed, watch that kid man.
Touching 120VAC live wires is very rarely fatal. It is dependent on the person and their electrical conductivity. If your child is calm there is little to worry about. If she is nervous and sweats a lot, she will get shocked much worse.
I first remember touching live wires when I was about 8 years old. I was asleep and the plug of the vaporizer was halfway out of the socket and I put my finger between the prongs. I woke up to a wierd tingling sensation.
Over the years I have touched live wires many times and 1995 was the first time that I couldn't feel any electricity at 120VAC. Sometime when I touch live wires now, I can sense it and other times I can't. Old electricians lick their finger to differentiate touching 120V or 220V wires.
All this said, I do not recommend purposely touching live wires. I strongly recommend that safety plugs be installed in all sockets that young children can be near. Lastly, don't be nervous about it - that makes you a better conductor and you will get shocked worse. (Easier said than done.)
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