Turning the switch off before plugging in or unplugging a lead or a device is the way to do it.

Switches are made for that purpose.

You should never plug in an appliance or such that is already turned on. Make sure the device is off. If it is off, there will be no electricity arcing as the prong comes near the receptacles. If there is any arcing, the electricity is only flowing across that arc. There is no electricity 'floating' around.

You would HAVE to put your hand into that arc or physically touch the prong to receive a shock. And, you would know you were shocked and would even have a small burn at the point of the arc. It would be painful.

Have you ever experienced a shock from static electricity from a rug, carpet or such ? A shock from house wiring would be much worse.

The only way there will ever be anything radiating away from the prongs is if there is a strong arc and the brass prong melts in a very small spot. This melting brass can create a mini-explosion and splatter away from the prong. This is a splatter of molten metal, not electricity. This is why it is important to not have the appliance or light on while plugging it in.

I do electric arc welding where an electric arc is used to melt the steel so the parts can be fused together. I can have my hand (gloved so I don't get burned) within inches of the arc and not receive a shock. Welding often uses 100 to 200 amps. btw, The gloves are leather and have conductivity similar to dry skin.

It is important to remember that electricity follows the path of least resistance. Air has a very high resistance with virtually no conductivity. Dry skin has high resistance and low conductivity. The brass has very high conductivity and almost no resistance so the electricity will jump a small air gap from the high conductive receptacle to the high conductive prong.

So, NO, you are not getting an unknown shock from plugging in or removing a plug unless you physically touch the prongs and feel the ouch of a shock.

But it's apparantly true that electricians check for a live wire / outlet with the back of their hand at times, so it must not have any permanent damage of any sort on the body. Does electric outlets have enough punch in them to heat tissue? Or is it only the heart that is at risk? And can you regenerate if you ever were to get shocked.

Nevertheless, I would get burned on the skin at point of contact right? As I can understand from above.

Most electricians would check for a live wire with a volt meter or circuit tester. Some of us will do a finger test. The only damage would be to a few skin cells at the point of contact.

Electrical outlets do have enough power to heat tissue but nobody would touch a live wire long enough to heat tissue. The shock would cause an instant pull away. There is a big difference between the risk of touching a live wire and pinching or grabbing a live wire. Pinching or grabbing a live wire is a good way to get electrocuted and possibly killed. The electricity can cause the finger muscles to spasm preventing the fingers from letting go. Then, what would have been a momentary shock that was just uncomfortable can become a heart stopping electrocution.

So, stay away from electrical wires. Turn off the appliance or light before unplugging them. Then pull the plug in a single motion.

I have NEVER come across a living qualified electrician who uses anything but meters to check wiring. ONE AMP CAN KILL YOU. Why mess around with something so lethal? Would you check to see if a road was clear by closing your eyes and stepping off the kerb?

Turn off appliances, lights and sockets before unplugging, only hold the plastic body of the plug and, if using an extension cord, use your other hand to hold that firmly.

We would rather NOT lose you from the Forum.

Dave.

Alright, so let me get this straight. If you were shocked by an outlet you would know if there was any damage and there would be symptoms if tissue and/or organs were damaged. And also, outlets don't contain enough volt to jump a gap/spark through the air and shock you?

EDIT:
Just realized, that according to theory: electricity follows the path of least resistance, I got that covered. Now that also means that it would never jump a gap between you and the metal prongs (creating an arc spark) because the metal prongs have much less resistance than the human body (the skin) along with the air it has to ionize. So it would never jump a gap through the air if the plug is halfway plugged into the outlet, no matter how close your fingers are, because the metal prongs is a much better conductor, right? Or are you still a potential victim since it can reach the ground through you? Or does it reach the ground through the metal prongs too anyway?

On second thought, why doesn't the electricity ignore your body and proceed to flow through the metal prongs instead of you, even when you touch them? Why does it bother to go through the resistance of the skin when the metal prongs are there already providing a path to ground.

If you were shocked, you would know it. You might even say some words that are inappropriate. You would quickly pull away so the shock would only last a fraction of a second. It would take high power to injure you beyond a burn on your fingers or such.

If you touched only one prong that was connected to live power, the electricity would try to find a path through your body to a ground. If another part of your body was touching a ground, then, you would get zapped. If you were not touching a ground, the electrical flow would be limited and might still zap you as it tried to find a path through your body. Plastic or rubber soled shoes would have an insulating factor so that zap would be limited.

If the electricity has a choice between a low resistance point like the other prong or a high resistance point like your body with plastic or rubber soled shoes, it will take that low resistance route.

Electricity HAS to complete a path or circuit to flow.

If you got shocked to a level that would cause damage, hopefully someone would be there to pick you up off the floor and take you to the hospital. But, if all you got was a zap that caused you to pull away, it is very unlikely that you suffered any damage beyond a small burn to your finger.

But, when you pulled the plug apart, you did not feel a shock so you did not get shocked.

Yeah, partly correct. While I didn't feel anything, I sure as hell pulled away super fast when I heard a loud electricity sound, and a small spark appeared in the process of pulling it out. But I hope that was a reflex. Even though both scenarios would release adrenaline in the body.

I think my problem lies within, that I don't know what it truly feels like, so my mind makes up all the scenarios that I could have been shocked and that I simply didn't pay attention to the pain. Does your finger hurt? or does your whole body or arm hurt. Ironically I hope it hurts like hell, because then I can be more sure that I didn't get a shock. Some people describe that their finger feels numb for up to an hour after. But then it worries me that some say they don't feel pain, but rather a very unpleasant overall feeling.

I've only ever tried getting shocked by an electric fence, and I remember it was like receiving a punch to the stomach resulting in some breathing difficulty, along with my legs giving out making me fall to the ground. And while I wouldn't describe that as pain either, it sure as hell was a very unpleasant event. Luckily the electricity was send through the fence only every 3 seconds or so. I can imagine an electric outlet feels way worse? Or does it just burn more because of lower volt and more amp?

I'm quite unsure as of what mixture of volt and amp makes a deadly combination. Does all the 15 - 30 amps in an outlet pass through your hand or chest in a fraction of a second at 220 volt? Or would that take a lot more volt? I can only find that, if your skin is dry and you get exposed to a relatively low voltage appliance under 500 v only a couple of miliamps (mA) can pass through your body? Is that why you can survive? Since I hear that only a few miliamps can stop the heart, 15 - 30 amps through the chest must make the heart explode. But and outlet creating a circuit past your heart doesn't always kill you, is that because the volt is low and hence the amps is lowered? 10 - 15 amps simply can't pass through you at under 500 volt?

A professional electricians site should have that detailed information that you are asking about.

Minimac,

What you heard was a miniature thunder clap with some sparking as the a very tiny part of the metal exploded. It was between the plug and the receptacle, not your finger and the plug. If it had been between your finger and the plug and there was a spark, you would have a deep burn on your finger. But, skin has too much resistance to cause a spark unless the skin is wet and salty. Even then it would be more of a sizzle than a spark.

An electric fence is very high volts but very low amps. Plus, it uses a capacitor/coil that 'collects' the electrical energy for a microsecond burst. There should not be enough energy in an electric fence to cause one to fall down. That would be a dangerous fence and against safety standards. The startle could knock someone off their feet. Once an electric fence makes a ground through a body, cow, horse, person etc., and the initial shock has discharged, the residual energy is very low. Fence energizers have a circuit breaker that automatically resets after a second or two so the energizer can recharge.

An electric outlet, in my experience, does not hurt quite like an electric fence if the outlet jolt is just a momentary jolt. But, it can be far more dangerous because the current is continuous as long as the person is in contact and makes a ground.

Regarding the feeling after getting shocked. Unless the shock is across the chest or more than a momentary jolt, I have never felt any residual discomfort.

I suggest you not try to figure out what voltage and amperage combinations are dangerous. In house wiring, they all are. Instead, learn proper procedure. Turn off the appliance or light before disconnecting the plug.

And, from what you have related, you were NOT shocked. You were startled by the arcing and popping, that is all.