# What happens if a defibrilator paddles touch eachother? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 19, 2015, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-a-defibrilator-paddles-touch-eachother/728229 "2015-08-19T00:36:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Artemis\_Tardis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4bbf92/32.png) [@Artemis\_Tardis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Artemis_Tardis)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2015, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-a-defibrilator-paddles-touch-eachother/728229/1 "2015-08-19T00:36:06Z")
On the Mr. Bean movie, Mr. Bean does that and is sent flying up in the air due to an electric shock. Now, in real life - what would happen if a doctor was dumb enough to do that? ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2015, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-a-defibrilator-paddles-touch-eachother/728229/2 "2015-08-19T00:55:40Z")
I don’t think anything will happen. Modern defibs are smart enough to know that you are not placing the paddles correctly. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2015, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-a-defibrilator-paddles-touch-eachother/728229/3 "2015-08-19T01:02:55Z")
Right. They will sense that they are correctly placed on the body before firing. Don’t know with the manually activated units but I don’t think you would get a shock if you’re holding onto the safety handles, and a fuse or breaker would blow. Maybe those would sense the short and not fire either. We call that machine a ‘clear thing’ at our house. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2015, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-a-defibrilator-paddles-touch-eachother/728229/4 "2015-08-19T03:51:52Z")
When correctly applied, it’s the patient who goes flying up in the air. Otherwise, it’s like crossing the beams. ---
**Author:** ![Isilder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/cc9497/32.png) [@Isilder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isilder)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2015, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-a-defibrilator-paddles-touch-eachother/728229/5 "2015-08-19T04:09:37Z")
> [@beowulff](#): > > I don’t think anything will happen. > Modern defibs are smart enough to know that you are not placing the paddles correctly. Its not a question about the defib being “smart”. Well “current limitted” is probably the basic explanation, the defib won’t try to deliver infinite current, besides which the total energy stored for one shot is the limit, its not going to exceed that with a short circuit… , and that isn’t a large amount of energy, so the defib device doesn’t have to have a heat sink for the case of short circuit. (it could say, dump water onto a heat sink, so as to remove heat into the water vapor…) Why is anyone asking ? Is the human body just like a resistor , is it even as simple as the element in a hotplate or light bulb ? No. Its quite complicated… to the defib, its more of a short circuit ANYWAY. Does the human body conduct electricity ? Well yes and no … No for low voltage. The skin and fat is enough to stop it … and it presents a very very high resistance to low voltages. But the defib produces enough voltage… it may well work as a current source… but the voltage is limitted to some range on top of the current source behaviour. Then voltage \* current \* time will be rather small in terms of Joules… no huge amount of heat produced. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2015, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-a-defibrilator-paddles-touch-eachother/728229/6 "2015-08-19T04:12:41Z")
> [@Isilder](#): > > Its not a question about the defib being “smart”. > Well “current limitted” is probably the basic explanation, the defib won’t try to deliver infinite current, besides which the total energy stored for one shot is the limit, its not going to exceed that with a short circuit… , and that isn’t a large amount of energy, so the defib device doesn’t have to have a heat sink for the case of short circuit. (it could say, dump water onto a heat sink, so as to remove heat into the water vapor…) > Why is anyone asking ? > > Is the human body just like a resistor , is it even as simple as the element in a hotplate or light bulb ? No. Its quite complicated… to the defib, its more of a short circuit ANYWAY. > > Does the human body conduct electricity ? Well yes and no … > > No for low voltage. The skin and fat is enough to stop it … and it presents a very very high resistance to low voltages. > > But the defib produces enough voltage… it may well work as a current source… but the voltage is limitted to some range on top of the current source behaviour. > > Then voltage \* current \* time will be rather small in terms of Joules… no huge amount of heat produced. Umm… No. Defibs ARE smart: > [@](#): > > Unlike regular defibrillators, an automated external defibrillator requires minimal training to use. It automatically diagnoses the heart rhythm and determines if a shock is needed. Automatic models will administer the shock without the user’s command. Semi-automatic models will tell the user that a shock is needed, but the user must tell the machine to do so, usually by pressing a button. In most circumstances, the user cannot override a “no shock” advisory by an AED. ---
**Author:** ![steatopygia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steatopygia/32/3132_2.png) [@steatopygia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steatopygia)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2015, 7:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-a-defibrilator-paddles-touch-eachother/728229/7 "2015-08-19T07:46:12Z")
AND… Modern defibrillators generally don’t have paddles. They use disposable sticky pads. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2015, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-a-defibrilator-paddles-touch-eachother/728229/8 "2015-08-19T14:49:54Z")
Yeah, I’ve been trained on how to use an AED. The training mostly consisted of “hook it up and then follow the directions the device gives you”. ---
**Author:** ![Nefario](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/59ef9b/32.png) [@Nefario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nefario)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2015, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-a-defibrilator-paddles-touch-eachother/728229/9 "2015-08-19T15:20:30Z")
> [@beowulff](#): > > Umm… > No. > Defibs ARE smart: Yabut… If an operator held the contact surfaces of both paddles against his hand I doubt it would know the difference and would fire. It _would_ probably detect a dead short paddle/paddle and not operate. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2015, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-a-defibrilator-paddles-touch-eachother/728229/10 "2015-08-19T15:29:22Z")
Two paddles up against a hand would feel different to the device than two paddles bracketing a heart in fibrillation. ---
**Author:** ![steatopygia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steatopygia/32/3132_2.png) [@steatopygia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steatopygia)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2015, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-a-defibrilator-paddles-touch-eachother/728229/11 "2015-08-19T19:17:47Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Two paddles up against a hand would feel different to the device than two paddles bracketing a heart in fibrillation. An actual pacemaker/defibrillator (as opposed to an AED) can be used even if the heart is not in V-fib or pulseless V-tach. These are intended to be used by medical professionals using clinical judgement. They are also used as external pacemakers and for synchronized cardioversion. They CAN shock asystole or ( I believe) any rhythm or lack of. However I am not willing to try and shock my hand in the name of science. ---
**Author:** ![Cartoonacy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/848f3c/32.png) [@Cartoonacy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartoonacy)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2015, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-a-defibrilator-paddles-touch-eachother/728229/12 "2015-08-19T19:24:25Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > We call that machine a ‘clear thing’ at our house. Several years ago, I saw actress Patricia Heaton (_The Middle, Everybody Loves Raymond_) on a talk show (I think it was Jay Leno). She mentioned that her husband is a safety nut, and even got a defibrillator for the home in case of emergencies. The host asked, “Defibrillator? Is that that thing with the paddles that you put on someone’s chest and say ‘Clear?’” She replied, “‘Clear?’ Is that what you say? I thought you were supposed to say ‘Pull.’” I hope her husband never has a heart attack while he’s out skeet shooting. ---
**Author:** ![smithsb](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smithsb/32/12107_2.png) [@smithsb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smithsb)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2015, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-a-defibrilator-paddles-touch-eachother/728229/13 "2015-08-19T22:45:03Z")
> [@Cartoonacy](#): > > Several years ago, I saw actress Patricia Heaton (_The Middle, Everybody Loves Raymond_) on a talk show (I think it was Jay Leno). She mentioned that her husband is a safety nut, and even got a defibrillator for the home in case of emergencies. > > The host asked, “Defibrillator? Is that that thing with the paddles that you put on someone’s chest and say ‘Clear?’” > > She replied, “‘Clear?’ Is that what you say? I thought you were supposed to say ‘Pull.’” > > I hope her husband never has a heart attack while he’s out skeet shooting. I thought it was “fire in the hole”. 😃 It’s also my most [del]maddening[/del] interesting trope in TV shows or movies where the victim flat-lines and they apply the paddles. It’s a defibrillator machine dammit, not a jump start. I hurl [del] shoes, sweaty socks, grenades [/del] insults at the screen. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2015, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-a-defibrilator-paddles-touch-eachother/728229/14 "2015-08-20T04:41:11Z")
In case anyone doesn’t know, a defibrillator’s job is actually to _stop_ the heart. After that, it’s hoped that the body will re-start it on its own, and hopefully get it right this time. To further clarify, a heart has two different ways it can beat. It can beat all in unison, dub-dub, which works just fine for pumping blood, or it can have every bit and piece of heart tissue each marching to the beat of a different drummer, which causes the heart as a whole to just sort of quiver a bit in place and pump almost no blood. This second state is called fibrillation, and it’s stable: A heart in fibrillation will tend to remain in fibrillation. So if you have a heart in fibrillation, you have to stop it from doing the useless thing so it can start doing something more useful. ---
**Author:** ![dougie\_monty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2015, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-a-defibrilator-paddles-touch-eachother/728229/15 "2015-08-20T04:56:09Z")
I was going to picture laying a rod of metal across the terminals of a car battery, or plugging both ends of a wire into the two receptacles in a wall outlet–with each end of the wire (albeit an insulated wire) fitted with ordinary plug prongs. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2015, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-a-defibrilator-paddles-touch-eachother/728229/16 "2015-08-20T12:49:39Z")
Where I used to work, a manager had a minor heart attack and spent some away. When he returned, we put a car battery with some curly wires attached on his desk and a big label “FOR EMERGENCY USE ONLY” You’ve gotta laugh…🙂 ---
**Author:** ![dougie\_monty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2015, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-a-defibrilator-paddles-touch-eachother/728229/17 "2015-08-20T15:27:13Z")
> [@bob\_2](#): > > Where I used to work, a manager had a minor heart attack and spent some away. When he returned, we put a car battery with some curly wires attached on his desk and a big label “FOR EMERGENCY USE ONLY” > > You’ve gotta laugh…🙂 Were there big copper clips on the ends of the wires? :eek: !! ---
**Author:** ![Cartoonacy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/848f3c/32.png) [@Cartoonacy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartoonacy)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2015, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-a-defibrilator-paddles-touch-eachother/728229/18 "2015-08-20T22:06:06Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > In case anyone doesn’t know, a defibrillator’s job is actually to _stop_ the heart. After that, it’s hoped that the body will re-start it on its own, and hopefully get it right this time. Standard customer support solution: “Have you tried rebooting?” ---
**Author:** ![NinjaJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a87d85/32.png) [@NinjaJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinjaJ)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2016, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-a-defibrilator-paddles-touch-eachother/728229/19 "2016-04-20T20:44:44Z")
> [@beowulff](#): > > Umm… > No. > Defibs ARE smart: Automated external defibrillators are smart, but there are professional units with manual overrides. 😃 Also ALS level defibrillators that can manually shock and even put a healthy person into SCA!:eek: ---
**Author:** ![Clark\_Cello](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/58f4c7/32.png) [@Clark\_Cello](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clark_Cello)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2016, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-a-defibrilator-paddles-touch-eachother/728229/20 "2016-04-20T21:03:37Z")
Maybe I am mis-remembering, but in old time TV shows, I think it was standard operating procedures to: 1. Rub the paddles together 2. Yell out “Clear!!!” 3. Apply the paddles to the chest I am thinking it was mainly “Emergency!” where I would see this. Maybe this was in the days before batteries and they had to rub the paddles to build up a static charge. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-a-defibrilator-paddles-touch-eachother/728229.md?page=2)