How many hours/minutes does it take for an electrical shock go kill you?

So my hands were kind of wet, and I plugged in my iPhone charger and I saw a little light as I was plugging it in. What are the symptoms of electric shock? Would I die instantly? Or would it take hours? I'm not feeling any pain right now. But, would it harm me?

Yep… You're gonna die! But NOT today. If you had actually received an electric shock, you'd know about it. You'd be picking yourself up off the floor.

Well… JetDoc is sort of right.

If you had received an actual shock (as in an electric spark) you probably would have felt it. If you had felt a shock that was enough to hurt you, would would DEFINITELY HAVE FELT IT. You know the feeling of a small shock if you have ever gotten a shock off a doorknob or from someone's hand when you touch in the winter time.

From what you describe, the biggest risk was frying your cell phone. Digital circuitry can be easily damaged by electrical spikes, even static electric discharges.

An electrical arc, whether it is from static electricity or shorting a AA battery with a paperclip or the arc in the switch when you turn your bedroom light on/off or when lightning strikes, the temperature of the arc plasma is ~ 10,000°C (surface of the sun temperature). Obviously, if the amount of energy released in the arc is really tiny (like touching a door knob), the amount of physical damage is really tiny (but you feel it) and, conversely, if the amount of energy released is large, the physical damage is severe.

If a modest electric current runs thru your flesh, it feels like a tingling so long as you avoid the arc. DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME but… Running "normal" household current thru your finger does no damage if you Make and Break the circuit using a real switch instead of your flesh. Electricians will sometimes do this to test a circuit in, say, a lamp. They turn the light off, unscrew the light bulb, insert their finger into the light bulb socket and they make sure their finger is touching the bottom of the socket (the little bump that contacts the nub on the lightbulb) and the side of the socket (the metal piece with the formed threads) and they turn the switch on. This runs electric current thru their finger and it only tingles. They turn the switch off and then remove their finger. Again… DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME.

One thing that is particularly dangerous is if electricity runs through enough of your body to cause your muscles to "grab onto" the source of electricity. This is why "experienced" electricians will sometimes brush the back of their hands on something rather than just grab a hold of it. That way, if they do get a shock, their muscles pull their hand away automatically.

If you want to see some really wild electrical stuff people do for a living, check out Youtube on repairing live high voltage power lines in a helicopter.

You probably just saw the sparks, you would have felt it if it had shocked you would have died or been jolted back you will know if you get zapped!

Generally an electric shock will not kill unles it goes directly through the heart or the brainstem. If this happens at a high enough amplitude it will kill instantly. However any electricity of this kind of voltage could only happen if you were hit with a Defibrillator or a toaster in water on high heat.

Considering you were shocked on the hand by an I-Phone charger, your life is in no danger. However, if the shock was high enough there may be some slight numbness in the hands, pins and needles or even spasming. But these would have subsided in less than three hours in most cases.

JetDoc is right… Mostly.

Yes, if you had received an electric shock, you'd know it. Believe me:-).

As for how long a shock can take to kill you - it varies between a few thousandths of a second to a couple of days. Seriously. Over here, standard precaution (in theory, at least) if you receive an electric shock in the workplace is to put you under clinical observation for at least 24 hours. There's the (unlikely, but existant) possiblity that a shock had messed up the nerve cluster regulating your heartbeat, which may lead to a cardiac arrest hours later.

However, ask any seasoned electrician about it, and (s)he probabyl won't be able to count how many shocks (s)he experienced.
From personal experience, I'd say it's unpleasant - definitely something you'd try to avoid, but not up to the level of panicking at the sight of a blank wire.