What REALLY Determines the Pain
2. Current Affairs
Okay, let's dive a little deeper into this amperage thing. Voltage is like the pressure in a water pipe, and amperage is like the amount of water flowing through that pipe. Low pressure (low voltage) with not much water (low amperage)? Not much happens. High pressure (high voltage) with a huge volume of water (high amperage)? Could be a disaster!
While 12 volts itself might not be lethal, the amperage behind it absolutely can be a factor. A car battery, for example, can deliver a HUGE amount of current. That's why you can crank an engine. So, while you might not feel the voltage as intensely as, say, touching a live household wire (120 volts), if you create a short circuit across a car battery, you could easily experience burns or other injuries due to the massive current flow.
Imagine touching the terminals of a car battery with a metal wrench. BAM! The wrench gets hot, possibly melts, and you get a nasty shock and maybe even burns. That's not the 12 volts itself doing the heavy lifting; it's the rapid, uncontrolled flow of current. So, the takeaway here is to always respect electrical sources, even low-voltage ones, because the potential for harm exists when a high amperage is involved.
It's important to note that even seemingly small currents can be dangerous. As little as 10 milliamps (0.01 amps) can cause muscle contractions, making it difficult to let go of the source of the electricity. Higher currents can cause cardiac arrest and other serious injuries. That said, a properly functioning 12v system should have safety measures in place (fuses, circuit breakers) to prevent excessive current flow in case of a short.
