From: "Eric Smith" <eric at brouhaha.com>
David wrote:
Considering that resistors might open, but rarely
short...i would expect
this to actually be parallel....
Jim wrote:
No, the resistor is there to protect the
engineer, not the equipment,
hence series.
If they're in series, but one fails open, it's not going to be protecting
either the engineer or the equipment.
But the engineer is protected by an open resistor - there is no path to
ground for a potentially fatal shock form the mains. The risk of static
damage is always secondary to the risk of a fatality. Remeber, the worst
case shock is one where the current passes through the heart, which is a
huge risk if one hand is connected directly to ground by a short
circuit.........
Jim.