Is there any risk if we stand in between two large conducting plates (capacitor) connected to supply?

Question

What are the risks involved if one were to stand between two large conducting plates (i.e area where air acts as the dielectric for these plates) and the capacitor is connected to a large voltage power supply in the following cases:

1. If the high voltage power supply is DC and applied for a long time and someone suddenly enters between the plates, is there any possibility of getting shocked in the transient state?

2. If the high voltage power supply is AC then what will be the effect at steady state if someone were standing in between the plates?

I thought that since the plates are electrically isolated due to air, if one were to stand in between the plates, they aren't going to get shocked although there is continuous current flowing through it (but it is due to the change in the electric field which causes induced electric current and the electrons of the air don't participate in current flow.)

I'm not sure whether I'm correct or not .

Answer 1

The first danger to consider is the danger of dielectric breakdown, and consequent current through the body between the plates.

If however, that danger were somehow eliminated, the next danger I would consider applies to an alternating electric field. Depending upon frequency and amplitude, a body between two conductive plates with an alternative electric field could cause heating in the body, or unwanted electrical activity in the nervous system.

Heating would not be a problem with a static (non-alternating) electric field. However, effects upon the nervous system might still be present. This is an area of current research (see for example this article). Or just google "nervous activity in high voltage fields" or something similar. I believe that at present, our knowledge of the effects of strong electric fields upon the nervous system is rather sparse.