You company is designing a battery-based backup power source, and your job is to assess its safety. You know that under damp or sweaty conditions, the resistance between two points of unbroken skin on the human body can be as low as 500 Ω. Your product uses a 72-V battery whose internal resistance is 100 Ω. Is it capable of passing a fatal 100 mA (Table 24.3) through a damp human body?

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Table 24.3 Effects of Externally Applied Current on Humans Current Range Effect 0.5-2 mA Threshold of sensation 10-15 mA Involuntary muscle contractions; can't let go 15–100 mA Severe shock; muscle control lost; breathing difficult 100–200 mA Fibrillation of heart; death within minutes >200 mA Cardiac arrest; breathing stops; severe burns