3 ms·
No you can't. It has the capacity to deliver 8 amps, but your body's resistance is too high to draw that current. https://www.seattlepi.com/news/article/Car-Ta
by wlesieutre 9y ago
No you can't. It has the capacity to deliver 8 amps, but your body's resistance is too high to draw that current.
https://www.seattlepi.com/news/article/Car-Talk-Car-battery-can-shock-you-but-it-1203143.php https://www.seattlepi.com/news/article/Car-Talk-Car-battery-...
EDIT - here's some math:
The U.S. Navy FIRE CONTROLMAN Volumes 01 - 06 & FIREMAN gives 1500 ohms as a common resistance approximation between extremities, either hand to hand or hand to foot, for an average human body.
I = V/R = 12V / 1500 Ohms = 0.008 A
8 mA is not nearly enough to kill you.
- FreeFull 9y agoOn the other hand, if skin is breached, the resistance is quite a bit smaller, and it won't take too much voltage to cause a deadly current.
- wlesieutre 9y agoThere's a story floating around the internet of someone having done by stabbing through their thumbs with a 9V multimeter, and maybe it's possible, but I'm skeptical of the story's veracity. I can see those wacky stories for a lot of situations, but you'd think with somebody dying that there'd be some kind of incident report or other documentation. But sure, it's probably best to not touch the car battery terminals when your hands are bleeding.
- lightedman 9y agoDing, this person isn't thinking about how sharp those cable clamps are and how strong of a spring it has which can drive that clamp well past the skin. This is how we killed animals on the ranch I grew up on. I know very well what will kill you electrically-speaking.
- lightedman 9y agoYou don't know how sharp battery clamps are, do you? They will easily penetrate the skin with those heavy springs and sharp points. At that point, your skin resistance means jack.