Large blue arc from capacitor when shorting it - how deadly was this situation and how much energy was inside?
how much energy predictably would of been in the capacitors


Assuming the capacitors divide the voltage and each is charged to 4 kV, the energy would be about 1 joule each. How much damage that would cause depends on how small and sensitive an area absorbed the energy. A baseball pitched by a professional would have well over 100 joules of energy and is routinely stopped safely by a glove, but could cause serious brain damaged if it is stopped by someone's forehead. A 22 caliber bullet has about the same energy, but would concentrate its energy in a much smaller area. A 1 joule arc would cause a nasty burn on a person's hand, but it would probably heal without causing any permanent disability. If someone managed to discharge a 4 kV, 1 joule charge with both hands it could kill them, but more likely wouldn't.