Originally Posted by
bernardd
Yes, it is more dangerous, but the distance isn't the real issue here, even at altitude - the brekdown of air is going to be comfortable above 1,000V / mm.
The problem comes if you accidentally touch the live plug terminal - the old style English plugs were notorious for children sliding their fingers between the face of the plug and the socket, which is why the newer style has insulation halfway down the pins. The problem is if you do manage to touch the pins while, say, fumbling in the dark in an aircraft, you're much more likely to survive 110V than 240V.
I thought it all depends on the current? Isn't that why you can safely have a several thousand volt shock from something cool like a Van der Graaf generator, and feel fine, where as if something is 12V, but a few hundred amps, you probably wouldn't be!
Also, don't most household (and I'd assume aircraft using 110/220V) have circuit breakers on them that trip out after around 5ms, so you don't get a lethal shock anyway?
Please excuse me if I'm wrong, but it's been a while since Physics A Level!