Can anyone tell me what gives the continuous tingling effect when you hold a battery to your tongue?
You would think, being DC, there would not be any sense of pulsation. But that is what you get.
Dave King
Why battery tingles if DC
Mar 17, 2011
3 Replies
Is it more "sizzling" electrolysis that is felt/tasted?
Nerve signals are pulses.
Cheers! Rich
The transmembrane potential of neurons is not much - perhaps 60mV or so. Depolarizing these cells by passing currents is a big part of how they work. Neurons have a fairly broad frequency response generally tapering off at frequencies much higher than DC (being relatively sensitive around 60Hz, for example ;), but you're giving them a big kick with your 9V battery. And there are a _lot_ of neurons at/near the surface of the tongue!
-f
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