Question

How many volts of energy can a human body survive?

Answer 1

It is not the voltage that is of danger to humans, but the amount of current that will pass through the body as a result. Read on...

Explanation:

Under conditions of very low current, a person can easily withstand tens or hundreds of thousands of volts with relatively little discomfort. The images you see of children holding the large globe of a van de Graaf generator while their hair stands on end is proof of this.

This is because in these situations, the amount of available charge, and as a result the amount of current passing through the body is very low, and no damage to tissue results

However, when a large supply of charge is available, and as a result, larger currents can pass through the body, the damage to tissue and organs can be severe.

Check out this document for more detail:

http://www.studyphysics.ca/30/shocking.pdf

or for something a little deeper, tyr this one:

http://psrcentre.org/images/extraimages/78.%201412144.pdf

As you see in this papers, as little as 0.01 amp causes involuntary muscle spasms, while ventricular fibrillation can result from as little as 0.030 amp!