If I touch a +12V DC line that can supply up to 6 Amps, will I die? Or just get really hurt?

You should exercise caution when working around ANY high energy source regardless of voltage. This is a safety issue that shouldn't be put to a bunch of non-industrial grade whatevers sitting in cubicles. The biggest danger from battery systems is explosion, burns, and fire, usually caused by inadvertent shorts resulting in sparks and flying liquid phase metal. In the case of heavy duty automotive/truck systems, for example, the standard procedure is that the frame GND (-) battery terminal is the first disconnected and the last reconnected.

He's just a lifeless wuss posting out of NYC area, a small annoyance compared to all the OT trolls pontificating about world politics and terrorism...

I posted on this subject a while ago, in a similar situation where everybody was theorizing and nobody was experimenting. With mildly sweaty hands, I grabbed two alligator clips, one in each hand, connected to an HP dc power supply, and cranked up the voltage. I began to feel tingling at about 50 volts, and it got painful at about

2. I did notice a mild metallic taste that faded with quite a long tau, on the order of 12 hours maybe. Perhaps the nickel plating of the clips was involved. You get a similar effect if you tongue-test a 9 volt battery for too long.

I have never heard of anyone being hurt by the 12 volts from a car battery.

John

John, You might be allergic to nickel.

...Jim Thompson

--
|  James E.Thompson, P.E.                           |    mens     |
|  Analog Innovations, Inc.                         |     et      |
|  Analog/Mixed-Signal ASIC\'s and Discrete Systems  |    manus    |
|  Phoenix, Arizona            Voice:(480)460-2350  |             |
|  E-mail Address at Website     Fax:(480)460-2142  |  Brass Rat  |
|       http://www.analog-innovations.com           |    1962     |
             
I love to cook with wine.      Sometimes I even put it in the food.

Maybe so; I have lots of allergies. Steroids are my friend.

Maybe somebody else could repeat my experiment.

John

In message , dated Sun, 27 Aug 2006, Jim Thompson writes

I'm sure he has a preference for dimes, quarters, and pictures of Benjamin Franklin in particular.

--
OOO - Own Opinions Only. Try www.jmwa.demon.co.uk and www.isce.org.uk
2006 is YMMVI- Your mileage may vary immensely.

John Woodgate, J M Woodgate and Associates, Rayleigh, Essex UK

All the ATM machines (redundancy, like LCD display) dispense only 20's here, with an especially ugly portrait of Andrew Jackson on each. They are a nuisance, and the larger bills are a bigger nuisance.

What do the ATM's dispense over there? I always get $300, the maximum, in 20's.

Pennies are going out of style here. Some storekeepers have begun the Russian practice of making approximate change. Most small store checkouts have a penny dish, where you can take or donate pennies as needed; most seem to fill up.

In the US, prices are usually posted without sales tax, so the final tab tends to be a random value, like $4.67 or something. I was surprised to purchase a £4 ac adapter at a hardware store in Oxford and discover that they wanted exactly £4 for it.

John

Yes, smarter to 'hide' the tax. Also, in Australia the till will round your purchase to the nearest 5 cents and you pay that - no pennies although they are shown in the individual prices.

That was my strategy too. Now the ATM in my local 7-11 has been upgraded and when I get $300, I now get $200 in twenties and a $100 bill. PITA

In message , dated Sun, 27 Aug 2006, John Larkin writes

One of the very few good things the European Commission has done is to insist on VAT-inclusive prices in the consumer field. Even business-to-business prices have to be explicit about whether VAT is included or not.

--
OOO - Own Opinions Only. Try www.jmwa.demon.co.uk and www.isce.org.uk
2006 is YMMVI- Your mileage may vary immensely.

John Woodgate, J M Woodgate and Associates, Rayleigh, Essex UK

Electrocuted? How long were you dead?

--
Service to my country? Been there, Done that, and I\'ve got my DD214 to
prove it.
Member of DAV #85.

Michael A. Terrell
Central Florida

It's always wise to hide the taxes from the taxpayers.

John

About 30 seconds. I was defribillated by a friend of mine in the lab. LMAO. OK. So everyone is saying that you cant be killed by a 12 volt battery. I have always heard that it wasnt the voltage that matterd but the amperage. Thanks for the thorough confusion.

In message , dated Sun, 27 Aug 2006, Mr. J D writes

Internal spoonerism!

-- OOO - Own Opinions Only. Try

and

2006 is YMMVI- Your mileage may vary immensely.

John Woodgate, J M Woodgate and Associates, Rayleigh, Essex UK

There are at least 5 things that matter.

1) The amount of current - the "amperage". 2) The voltage 3) The resistance 4) The resulting total energy (volts x amps x time) 4) The location of the current path 5) The frequency

Skin resistance is simply too high to get the necessary energy into you from a 12-volt battery. I remember as a kid I could just barely feel 12 VAC in my finger tips, which was probably due to a current of a few dozen microamps or so. Electrocution would require a few milliamps concentrated in your heart muscle, which would require at least 10 times as much going into your hands because the current density is reduced as it spreads out from your arms while crossing your chest. Also, AC is much more dangerous that DC - AC tends to induce fibrillation. A 12-volt battery cannot electrocute you unless establish a low-resistance path directly to the heart. Metal electrodes sunken into your chest might do it.

-- Joe Legris

Alright, 5 1/2 things.

It's not that confusing when you remember that people are resistors too. You need sufficient voltage to get that damaging current through a resistor/person in the first place.

Tim

=20

=20

I used to get $50s but $20s seem to be the biggest at ATMs now. =20 THey do have $10s too (and used to have change, even). The stupid=20 CU here even gave a free Washington to those who took out an odd=20 change amount. Ok, I'll take $100.25. ...didn't last long=20 (dummys).

That's often your bank/account limit. You can often get that=20 raised to $500 or $1000, though some ATMs might not like it. Think=20 about how much money is in the average ATM! =20

The PHBs where my wife used to work thought they were going to try=20 to save money by having her on call (rotating) once a month to fill=20 the ATM on weekends. Walk into a bank at 2:00AM with everyone in=20 the world knowing that you have access to a $100K or two? ...not=20 bloody likely! =20

Seems so. I try to carry exact change. My penny dish is emptying,=20 though my son left me a few thousand when he moved out.

Most states it's law. Sales tax is on the purchaser, but payable=20 by the merchant. OTOH, some bars charge twice on alcoholic=20 beverages if one also purchase food (alcohol has a "consumption"=20 tax on the seller). =20

--=20 Keith

Over here, depending on predicted demand (*big* field), there can be up to 1M $AU in a given machine - not just possible, but actual practise. Needless to say, the information about which machines and when they're filled is kept very securely. Not even (or should that be "especially") :-) the guards that load the machines know how much is in the canister. Your point was?

Long gone here - 1c and 2c both. All the registers were modded to round to the nearest 5c mark on the total bill. Sounds like it's time you did that also... I'd be surprised if our 5c lasts long.