PaulM wrote:
O shit, did that at X-MAS… thought it was fine not risking death. 💡 :angel_fly :angel_fly
although some of the others seem feasible the “9 volt battery” thing is an urban legend (the “3 deaths per year” figure is quoted in joke emails all the way from here to Kazakhstan with a different country mentioned each time).
although there are some more sensitive individuals, most humans can survive a considerable amount of electricity being passed through them if the current is low. a 9v battery cannot provide enough current to kill due to the resistance of the human body.
It usually takes about 50-60V before voltages can be classed as hazardous. I have been shocked by a number of things over the years – mains (a good bit of advice – never just assume a circuit is switched off if you are at all unsure where it is fed from!), also a 120V DC battery feed to a comms room from a BT telephone exchange (used for some obscure ISDN kit) which was on unmarked metal terminals – I am still very much alive and well.
that said testing 9v batteries with your tongue is neither pleasant nor an accurate indication of whether the battery is any good – a half-exhausted one will still give you a tingle. Not much good if you use it for some kit at a gig and get crap sound quality; and a lot worse if its your smoke alarm battery!
The shops in most cities run by Asian chaps selling cheap electrical accessories often sell battery testers which are more accurate and less painful….
