Real world test results
Real world test results
Since I didn't have a popsicle stick, I used an incense holder soaked in tap water.
Using a DVOM, it acted like a capacitor. I could see around 1750 ohms for an instant and then infinity. I could also see the effects that lying in water vs. dry had on the discharge rate.
With a 500 volt megger, I saw 3000 ohms at a length of 7 inches, 1500 at a length of 3.5 inches.
I figure this to be about 16,000 ohm-meters.
Now, at 480 volts, 1500 ohms would allow for 320 mA of current. Figure in another 1500 for the body and we would see 170 mA, just under the 'lethal limit' at 7 inches and quite deadly at 3.5 inches.
To me, the above scenario seems very possible and I would rather trust my measured values than one based upon some theory that was way over my head and resulted in a value a few orders of magnitude off what I actually measured.
My uneducated prediction was 500 ohms based upon a 5k ohm-meter sample. I stand by my prediction as my other uneducated opinion is that I created a wet stick of a value of 16,000 ohm-meter using well water and an unknown species of wood covered with ash. The ash will skew the results as it parts of it becomes ionic when dissolved in water.