6 ms·

> Voltage can't go up arbitrarily, but voltage can safely be increased to ~48V or so in most applications. After 48V, humans start to get shocked / hurt, so tha

> Voltage can't go up arbitrarily, but voltage can safely be increased to ~48V or so in most applications. After 48V, humans start to get shocked / hurt, so that's probably the reasonable limit. Car batteries in ICE cars are nominally 12v. Grab both terminals and tell me it doesn't hurt.

sjruckle 5y ago
I've done this. It doesn't hurt. In fact I didn't feel anything besides the battery terminals.
StrictDabbler 5y ago
Ok, done. Many many many times. 12v can't exceed the resistance of human skin so it doesn't matter how much current capacity it has. You can hold onto those terminals all day. It's settled science. If you doubt it, tests of this are all over YouTube. It's just true. Now your tongue, perhaps...
- amluto 5y ago
  If t you short a car battery, you might not get electrocuted, but the results are unlikely to be pretty.
  - wearywanderer 5y ago
    You can't short a car battery by touching the terminals with your dry unbroken skin, anymore than you can short a AA battery by touching both ends.
  - stordoff 5y ago
    You aren't shorting the battery in this case. There's still a significant resistance (your body, particularly the skin contact resistance) between the terminals.
- swader999 5y ago
  So my cat doesn't have to worry?
dandelany 5y ago
...it doesn't hurt. Dry skin isn't conductive enough to pass any significant current at 12V. But if you inserted electrodes into your fingers so the electricity conducted through your wet inner bits, you can be killed by a lot less than 12V across the heart.
martyvis 5y ago
I have never felt anything holding 12V DC in my hands. Putting your tongue across 9V "transistor" battery terminals is another thing though.
- dragontamer 5y ago
  I've left a 9V battery in my pocket once and it touched a penny. I definitely felt that, lol. But yeah, 9V and 12V don't hurt your skin at all. The worst you'll get typically is when you accidentally short it with some metal, and something becomes burning hot really quickly. But this "burning hot" issue can happen even with 1.5V NiMH batteries or 3.3V Li-Ion batteries (even hot enough to start a fire in your pocket! Like all those vaping accidents). That's not "shock" or "electricity", that's literally heat from some other thing messing up the battery pack. So its not really the same.
throaway46546 5y ago
It just tingles a bit if anything.
- beervirus 5y ago
  It doesn’t tingle.
ChrisMarshallNY 5y ago
When I was a kid, we had this massive high-voltage transformer that produced about 2,000 volts, at some sick amperage. We used it to make jacob's ladders. That was fun. Until I touched the two bars. I woke up on the other side of the room, smelling burning...me. That wasn't fun...
- Tempest1981 5y ago
  I learned this recently: > If you receive a shock, if can affect the rhythm of your heart and cause problems later. We’re taught to go and get an ECG after receiving a shock. Like jump in the car and go to the doctor or hospital, and have someone else drive you. If you’ve received a shock - go get checked out. -jaidan https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27259589 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27259589
  - Taniwha 5y ago
    yup, always work around high voltages with your left hand (the one closes to your heart) in your pocket, to discourage unwanted currents from passing through the heart
    - tempestn 5y ago
      The main reason being that you don't want to be working with both hands, since then current can travel in one and out the other, directly across your chest.
    - orthoxerox 5y ago
      As the old joke goes, experienced electricians touch even their wife's breasts with only one hand, just in case.
  - Dylan16807 5y ago
    I saw that too but I wouldn't spread it as a fact without a better source.
    - 5y ago

sjruckle 5y ago

I've done this. It doesn't hurt. In fact I didn't feel anything besides the battery terminals.

StrictDabbler 5y ago

Ok, done. Many many many times. 12v can't exceed the resistance of human skin so it doesn't matter how much current capacity it has. You can hold onto those terminals all day. It's settled science. If you doubt it, tests of this are all over YouTube. It's just true. Now your tongue, perhaps...

amluto 5y ago
If t you short a car battery, you might not get electrocuted, but the results are unlikely to be pretty.
- wearywanderer 5y ago
  You can't short a car battery by touching the terminals with your dry unbroken skin, anymore than you can short a AA battery by touching both ends.
- stordoff 5y ago
  You aren't shorting the battery in this case. There's still a significant resistance (your body, particularly the skin contact resistance) between the terminals.
swader999 5y ago
So my cat doesn't have to worry?

dandelany 5y ago

...it doesn't hurt. Dry skin isn't conductive enough to pass any significant current at 12V. But if you inserted electrodes into your fingers so the electricity conducted through your wet inner bits, you can be killed by a lot less than 12V across the heart.

martyvis 5y ago

I have never felt anything holding 12V DC in my hands. Putting your tongue across 9V "transistor" battery terminals is another thing though.

dragontamer 5y ago
I've left a 9V battery in my pocket once and it touched a penny. I definitely felt that, lol. But yeah, 9V and 12V don't hurt your skin at all. The worst you'll get typically is when you accidentally short it with some metal, and something becomes burning hot really quickly. But this "burning hot" issue can happen even with 1.5V NiMH batteries or 3.3V Li-Ion batteries (even hot enough to start a fire in your pocket! Like all those vaping accidents). That's not "shock" or "electricity", that's literally heat from some other thing messing up the battery pack. So its not really the same.

throaway46546 5y ago

It just tingles a bit if anything.

beervirus 5y ago
It doesn’t tingle.

ChrisMarshallNY 5y ago

When I was a kid, we had this massive high-voltage transformer that produced about 2,000 volts, at some sick amperage. We used it to make jacob's ladders. That was fun. Until I touched the two bars. I woke up on the other side of the room, smelling burning...me. That wasn't fun...

Tempest1981 5y ago
I learned this recently: > If you receive a shock, if can affect the rhythm of your heart and cause problems later. We’re taught to go and get an ECG after receiving a shock. Like jump in the car and go to the doctor or hospital, and have someone else drive you. If you’ve received a shock - go get checked out. -jaidan https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27259589 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27259589
- Taniwha 5y ago
  yup, always work around high voltages with your left hand (the one closes to your heart) in your pocket, to discourage unwanted currents from passing through the heart
  - tempestn 5y ago
    The main reason being that you don't want to be working with both hands, since then current can travel in one and out the other, directly across your chest.
  - orthoxerox 5y ago
    As the old joke goes, experienced electricians touch even their wife's breasts with only one hand, just in case.
- Dylan16807 5y ago
  I saw that too but I wouldn't spread it as a fact without a better source.
  - 5y ago