An electrical shock happens when you become an electrical circuit between two points. It is never pleasant and there is a huge risk of death for anyone who has the misfortune of getting one. My father was a highly respected authority on this subject in his role as a chief scientific adviser at the Electrical Research Association back in the 60s and 70s. His work with North Sea divers, who needed to use electrical tools underwater, led to the development of devices such as residual-current devices (RCDs) to save the divers' lives when things went wrong.

From a very early age, my father taught me lots about electricity and how to stay safe when working with it. And in a previous life as a systems engineer, I furthered my knowledge by attending several electrical safety courses.

There are several ways we can be affected by electricity. Many factors such as humidity, insulation and faults can all play an important part. We can also experience secondary physical injuries following a shock, some of them life-threatening, including burns, dizziness, unconsciousness and even heart failure.

Of course, the type of electric shock and the way we receive it can both vary. A static shock is the most common; we’ve all experienced those in the form of a sharp 'crack' when taking off a piece of plastic clothing, for example. These static shocks are actually very high voltage, but with very low currents (as something with a static charge will discharge quickly), so they won't generally cause too much pain.

If you’re unfortunate enough to complete a circuit on a mains supply, it’s a different story altogether.

Generally speaking, low voltages such as 12V don't present us with any real problems. But high voltages, like the 220V used for UK mains supply, can be a huge problem when unsafe.

Unlike a static shock, a mains shock will last for as long as you make the circuit. You could be completing a circuit with both your hands, which would be very bad news because the current will flow through your chest and your heart. Your muscles may well contract towards the source of the problem, making it difficult to let go of whatever is shocking you.

Furthermore, it poses a danger to someone else if they try and intervene, as they could also become part of the circuit. Hopefully you agree that this sounds like an awful way to die! Of course, you may be lucky and only be completing the circuit with a single hand – this will hurt a lot but it won’t be as bad as the first scenario.

In the UK we have the best mains plugs and sockets in the world. But occasionally things do go wrong. I arrived at a new venue for work and was booked to play outside on a beautiful sunny day. There was an electrical supply nearby, so I set up my kit, including the metal-framed DJ booth that holds my controller, laptop and Wolfmix lighting controller. I powered everything up and conducted a quick sound check.

All good… that was until I touched the metal surface of the laptop and my hand made contact with the DJ booth, giving me a painful, powerful mains shock! It’s fair to say nothing quite prepares you for that feeling – it really does come as quite the… err… shock.

Now, I knew that my equipment was safe because...


To read the full article, you’ll need to have a physical copy of the magazine which you can sign up for here for 6 issues delivered to your door from just £16!

https://store.promobile.online/products/pro-mobile-magazine-6-issue-1-year-subscription

You’ll also get full interactive access to this and the last year of magazines via the Pro Mobile Magazine App which is available from both the Apple App Store and Android PlayStore