Electricity can be a hazard in hospitals, particularly to patients who are conne

Question

Electricity can be a hazard in hospitals, particularly to patients who are connected to electrodes, such as an ECG. Suppose that the motor of a motorized bed shorts out to the bed frame, and the bed frame's connection to a ground has broken (or was not there in the first place). If a nurse touches the bed and the patient at the same time, the nurse becomes a conductor (R = 1.1 Times 10^4 Ohm) and a complete circuit can be made through the patient (R = 1.1 Times 10^4 Ohm) to ground through the ECG apparatus. This is shown schematically in (Figure 1). Calculate the current through the patient. Express your answer to two significant figures and include the appropriate units. I = One or more of the units you entered is not recognized. Click help to view a list of recognized units.

Explanation / Answer

Since all the resistance are in series

So Req will be given by:

Req = Rnurse + Rpatient + Rmotor + Rbed + Recg

Rnurse = Rpatient = 1.1*10^4 ohm

Rmotor = 10^4 ohm

Rbed = Recg = negligible

Req = 1.1*10^4 + 1.1*10^4 + 10^4 = 3.2*10^4 ohm

V = 240 V

using ohm's law:

V = i*Req

i = V/Req

i = 240/(3.2*10^4)

i = 0.0075 Amp.

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