Timeline for How am I able to jump my car when I ground one of the jumpers?
Current License: CC BY-SA 3.0
10 events
| when toggle format | what | by | license | comment | |
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| Oct 31, 2011 at 13:50 | comment | added | endolith | @Majenko: Shorting the battery is certainly bad, especially if you short it with something like a metal ring on your finger. But I'm skeptical that touching it would ever cause problems, even with broken skin. | |
| Oct 29, 2011 at 9:06 | comment | added | Majenko | ... to explode causing massive injuries and even death. So, touching the + and the car body could be nasty. (note the use of could not will to denote that the circumstances have to be right) | |
| Oct 29, 2011 at 9:05 | comment | added | Majenko | ... entirely depends upon circumstances. Cuts & grazes, protruding wires, sweat, humidity, etc., they all play a part. That is why if you stick a 9v battery on your tongue you can feel it. One of the worst ways that a car battery can injure you by shocking you is by causing a minor shock that causes you to drop the metal tool that you are holding, thus shorting the + to the - terminal. This can short circuit the battery causing a massive build-up of hydrogen and oxygen gasses at a rate that is far in excess of the ability of the venting system to get rid of it, thus causing the battery ... | |
| Oct 29, 2011 at 9:02 | comment | added | Majenko | Under normal circumstances, it is "fairly safe" to touch the + and - terminal of a car battery. The voltage is too low to overcome the skin resistance. In certain circumstances, however, it is possible to get a shock off a car battery. Even if this isn't enough to kill in itself, the actual act of getting a shock can be shocking enough to cause you to drop something heavy on your foot, for example, or worse, to cause a winch to drop something heavy on you - or for you to jerk backwards into something nasty. It is never safe to say that you cannot get a shock off something as it ... | |
| Oct 29, 2011 at 1:07 | comment | added | endolith | @Majenko: Why would it be nasty to touch a 12 V battery? | |
| Oct 28, 2011 at 20:11 | comment | added | Jason S | @IDLacrosseplayer: there is insulation on your feet (shoes) and your car (rubber tires), so it's not dangerous. 12V isn't enough voltage to cause any issues anyway unless you really try hard to form a good conductive path (e.g. electrodes across your eyeballs or tongue, or with wet conductive pads right next to your heart -- please don't try any of these) | |
| Oct 28, 2011 at 20:03 | comment | added | Majenko | There is no connection between + and ground, which there would need to be for the current to then pass through the ground, through you, through the car, and into the - terminal. Touching the + and the car body could be nasty though. | |
| Oct 28, 2011 at 19:59 | vote | accept | IDLacrosseplayer | ||
| Oct 28, 2011 at 19:51 | comment | added | IDLacrosseplayer | Thanks! Can you also let me know why, if the whole body is part of the circuit, I don't shock myself when I connect my hand to the car, and my feet to earth-ground? Is there just not enough current for me to notice? | |
| Oct 28, 2011 at 19:47 | history | answered | Majenko | CC BY-SA 3.0 |