This discussion board is a place to discuss our Daily Challenges and the math and science
related to those challenges. Explanations are more than just a solution — they should
explain the steps and thinking strategies that you used to obtain the solution. Comments
should further the discussion of math and science.
When posting on Brilliant:
Use the emojis to react to an explanation, whether you're congratulating a job well done , or just really confused .
Ask specific questions about the challenge or the steps in somebody's explanation. Well-posed questions can add a lot to the discussion, but posting "I don't understand!" doesn't help anyone.
Try to contribute something new to the discussion, whether it is an extension, generalization or other idea related to the challenge.
Stay on topic — we're all here to learn more about math and science, not to hear about your favorite get-rich-quick scheme or current world events.
Markdown
Appears as
*italics* or _italics_
italics
**bold** or __bold__
bold
- bulleted - list
bulleted
list
1. numbered 2. list
numbered
list
Note: you must add a full line of space before and after lists for them to show up correctly
# I indented these lines
# 4 spaces, and now they show
# up as a code block.
print "hello world"
# I indented these lines
# 4 spaces, and now they show
# up as a code block.
print "hello world"
Math
Appears as
Remember to wrap math in \( ... \) or \[ ... \] to ensure proper formatting.
2 \times 3
2×3
2^{34}
234
a_{i-1}
ai−1
\frac{2}{3}
32
\sqrt{2}
2
\sum_{i=1}^3
∑i=13
\sin \theta
sinθ
\boxed{123}
123
Comments
Both Thomas Edison and Topsy the elephant say that AC is more dangerous. Of course, those two might be slightly biased against AC. ;)
But seriously, both can be dangerous depending on the amount of current and which part(s) of the body the current runs through. Some sources indicate that AC current is more likely to cause muscles to contract, making it harder to let go of whatever is electrocuting you. However, I have no experience to know if this is indeed correct. Disclaimer: Don't try any experiments that involve electrocuting yourself and/or others.
From what I know, DC is more dangerous than AC. Consider both AC and DC are having same peak voltage of say, 230 volts. You know, that AC has positive and negative cycles and there are points where the voltage becomes zero, whereas DC is static - it is not varying. So suppose your house mains supply is DC instead of AC, and by chance you touched the live wire with bare hands. Now since it is DC, it will continuously burn you up and you will be dead in a matter of seconds. Note there are no zero crossings. So, when you touch a DC supply, you are stuck with it until you are dead or somebody throws you away from the contact. Whereas consider AC - here, there are zero points and since there are 50 cycles in one second, there will be 100 zero crossings in one second. So, if you touch an AC supply with bare hands, there is a chance for you to draw your hands back, before the supply burns you out. And also, the AC supply, since is not continuously static, will take more time to burn something as compared to DC with the same peak voltage. With said all this, I hope you get the basic idea.
Really voltage has nothing to do with it. Consider electricity to be a river you have voltage which would be how much water there is and then you have amperage which would be how the current. It doesn't mater how much water there is its the current that dangerous
Easy Math Editor
This discussion board is a place to discuss our Daily Challenges and the math and science related to those challenges. Explanations are more than just a solution — they should explain the steps and thinking strategies that you used to obtain the solution. Comments should further the discussion of math and science.
When posting on Brilliant:
*italics*
or_italics_
**bold**
or__bold__
paragraph 1
paragraph 2
[example link](https://brilliant.org)
> This is a quote
\(
...\)
or\[
...\]
to ensure proper formatting.2 \times 3
2^{34}
a_{i-1}
\frac{2}{3}
\sqrt{2}
\sum_{i=1}^3
\sin \theta
\boxed{123}
Comments
Both Thomas Edison and Topsy the elephant say that AC is more dangerous. Of course, those two might be slightly biased against AC. ;)
But seriously, both can be dangerous depending on the amount of current and which part(s) of the body the current runs through. Some sources indicate that AC current is more likely to cause muscles to contract, making it harder to let go of whatever is electrocuting you. However, I have no experience to know if this is indeed correct. Disclaimer: Don't try any experiments that involve electrocuting yourself and/or others.
Log in to reply
That was great! Your last sentence reminded me of a blog post that deals with electricity (although that post has nothing to do with this question).
From what I know, DC is more dangerous than AC. Consider both AC and DC are having same peak voltage of say, 230 volts. You know, that AC has positive and negative cycles and there are points where the voltage becomes zero, whereas DC is static - it is not varying. So suppose your house mains supply is DC instead of AC, and by chance you touched the live wire with bare hands. Now since it is DC, it will continuously burn you up and you will be dead in a matter of seconds. Note there are no zero crossings. So, when you touch a DC supply, you are stuck with it until you are dead or somebody throws you away from the contact. Whereas consider AC - here, there are zero points and since there are 50 cycles in one second, there will be 100 zero crossings in one second. So, if you touch an AC supply with bare hands, there is a chance for you to draw your hands back, before the supply burns you out. And also, the AC supply, since is not continuously static, will take more time to burn something as compared to DC with the same peak voltage. With said all this, I hope you get the basic idea.
Log in to reply
Really voltage has nothing to do with it. Consider electricity to be a river you have voltage which would be how much water there is and then you have amperage which would be how the current. It doesn't mater how much water there is its the current that dangerous