12V isn't a shock hazard, but it IS a burn hazard. Even without a short circuit, if you make or break an electrical connection that has a lot of current going through it, the point at which the connection is made can get very hot very quickly and can burn your fingers.
While a car battery has enough amperage (electrical power) to kill you, it doesn't have enough voltage (electrical force – to push the electrons through your body). Your body is just not conductive enough to be fried by 12 volts. Ray: If you were made of metal, 12 volts would crisp your circuits.
If you place your hands across the terminals of a 12V battery very little current will flow between the terminals because your hand has a very high electrical resistance. The current is what you feel and causes damage, and thus you will not notice anything.
You can touch the two terminals of a 12 volts battery and you won't fell anything. The 10 Amperes current can kill you if it is driven through your body by enough voltage specially if you have a weak heart.
12 volts DC is not a shock hazard.
You can't touch the wires in your 120V AC household electrical system without getting a nasty, dangerous shock, but you can touch bare wires carrying 12V DC in your car, even lay your hands across the positive and negative 12V battery terminals, without risk of electrocution.
Assuming a steady current flow (as opposed to a shock from a capacitor or from static electricity), shocks above 2,700 volts are often fatal, with those above 11,000 volts being usually fatal, though exceptional cases have been noted.
The human body feels a shock when the voltage is higher than about 3,500 volts. Walking over a carpet can generate 35,000 volts.
Voltage is not the same as amperage
So, even though most car batteries are only 12 volts, they are capable of generating a current that's around 180 times as powerful as what's needed to power a 40-watt light bulb.
1.0 to 4.3 Amps Rhythmic pumping action of the heart ceases. Muscular contraction and nerve damage occur; death is likely. 10 Amps Cardiac arrest, severe burns, death is probable. Can you think of any situations in which you could face those amounts of electrical current?
How Long Does a 12v Ride On Battery Last? The average lifespan of a 12v ride on car battery is about an hour of continuous use. The primary factor that determines its lifespan is the capacity of the battery, with higher-capacity batteries providing longer life than their lower-capacity counterparts.
You will get 3,600 watts from a 12 volt battery. You can calculate any volt of battery in the same way to get the actual watt value of that battery. An average 12 volt battery that we use in our cars can have 4000-8000 watts.
Since it's an open frame power supply one of the most common uses is for network switches and applications. Computer peripherals use it, as well as telecommunications and fiber optic networks and voice, data, and analog communications.
Therefore, a 12 volt system, even one with a higher amperage rating, is seen as generally lower risk because the 12 volts is usually insufficient to penetrate skin and other objects. Low voltage systems do have a lower risk, but that is not to say they are risk-free.
Conversely, 24VDC's main advantage over other voltage levels is safety. No arc flash hazards are present and the voltage is low enough that the shock hazard is almost negligible.
In industry, 30 volts is generally considered to be a conservative threshold value for dangerous voltage. The cautious person should regard any voltage above 30 volts as threatening, not relying on normal body resistance for protection against shock.
Simply put, voltage can be thought of as “pressure,” so while a car battery may technically have enough amperage to kill you, the paltry 12 volts DC simply doesn't provide enough pressure to push any significant amount of amperage through the contact resistance of your skin.
12V batteries are used in most vehicles because the electrical components such as the starter, lighting, and ignition systems are designed to operate on 12 volts. The 12-volt rating of a battery is the nominal voltage and it may be slightly higher or lower depending on the state of charge and loads.
12.5 volts - Your battery is at a healthy state of charge, but we'd recommend re-checking it within a few days to ensure the voltage hasn't dropped any further. 12.1 - 12.4 volts - Your battery is partially discharged and should be recharged as soon as possible, using a suitable battery charger.
At 500 V or more, high resistance in the outer layer of the skin breaks down.
A 10 volt electric shock won't be felt if tried to sense by a workman's hand (being rough enough). But a 15 to 20 volt shock will be felt by him. On the other hand, shocks of 8 to 10 volts will be immediately felt if sensed by back of one's hand & more so if tongue is used.
Low Voltage Shock Injuries Can Be Deadly. A low voltage electric shock may result in fatal injuries because it can send an electrical current through vital organs and tissues with low resistance.
The TASER energy weapons use a peak voltage of 50,000 volts so that the electrons can be propelled across a 2 inch air gap. The high voltage causes electrons to “jump the gap,” a process that “ionizes” the air gap in what appears to the user as a bright arc.
It's The Current That Kills
The real measure of shock's intensity lies in the amount of current (amperes) forced though the body, and not the voltage. Any electrical device used on a house wiring circuit can, under certain conditions, transmit a fatal current.
A typical lightning flash is about 300 million Volts and about 30,000 Amps. In comparison, household current is 120 Volts and 15 Amps.