1 volt is the potential difference required to impart 1 joule of energy to 1 coulomb of charge. 1 volt / meter is the voltage gradient that will put a force of 1 newton on one coulomb of charge. The units of volage are J/C (Joules per Coulomb), or equivalently, N m / C (Newton Meters per Coulomb.) Bob.
One Volt is defined as energy consumption of one joule per electric charge of one coulomb.
We don't really feel a voltage, we feel a current (not "amperage"). Because a battery can be approximated by a voltage source, the current that pass through the body can be calculated by Ohm's law, I=U/R, where U is the voltage from the battery and R is the skin resistance.
A good rule of thumb is that when a shock is at or above 2,700 volts, it often results in death or severe injury. At over 11,000 volts, the victim will usually pass away. A good rule of thumb is that when a shock is at or above 2,700 volts, the person often dies or experiences severe injury.
At 500 V or more, high resistance in the outer layer of the skin breaks down.
When Ohm published his formula in 1827, his key finding was that the amount of electric current flowing through a conductor is directly proportional to the voltage imposed on it. In other words, one volt of pressure is required to push one amp of current through one ohm of resistance.
Current Kills, Not the Voltage. But Voltage is must to drive the Current. I.e. Amperes are responsible for electrocution, Not the Volts.
Once the skin is punctured, the lowered resistance results in massive current flow. Ohm's law is used to demonstrate the action. At 1,000 volts, Current = Volts/Ohms = 1,000/500 = 2 Amps which can cause cardiac arrest and serious damage to internal organs.
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.
The human body has an inherent high resistance to electric current, which means without sufficient voltage a dangerous amount of current cannot flow through the body and cause injury or death. As a rough rule of thumb, more than fifty volts is sufficient to drive a potentially lethal current through the body.
Voltages greater than 450V a.c. are especially dangerous. At this point the resistance of the skin can break down which significantly reduces the body's overall resistance thereby causing a substantial increase in current.
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.
A typical lightning flash is about 300 million Volts and about 30,000 Amps. In comparison, household current is 120 Volts and 15 Amps.
HOW MANY VOLTS IN A CAR BATTERY? When discussing car battery voltage, we're generally talking about a 12-volt battery. When we take a closer look, we see car battery voltage can range anywhere from 12.6 to 14.4. With the engine off, the fully charged car battery voltage will measure 12.6 volts.
1 volt is defined as the difference in electric potential across a wire when 1A current dissipates 1 watt of power across the wire.
One single point does not have a voltage, since voltage is defined as the energy difference between two points. Voltage always depends on some reference point that is defined to be 0 V.
Voltage is not the same as amperage
Even though most car batteries are only 6 or 12 volts, a 12-volt battery can produce as much as 600 amps. Amperage can be thought of as the volume of electricity that's generated, but the voltage can be thought of as the “pressure” of the electricity.
Second, lightning is a direct current (DC) that would require it to be converted to alternating current (AC) so it could be used for lights and other equipment.
In fact, lightning can heat the air it passes through to 50,000 degrees Fahrenheit (5 times hotter than the surface of the sun).
A single bolt of it carries a few billion joules of energy, sufficient enough to power a tens of homes for a day.
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.
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.
At 600 volts, the current through the body may be as great as 4 amps, causing damage to internal organs, such as the heart. High voltages also produce burns. In addition, internal blood vessels may clot. Nerves in the area of the contact point may be damaged.
An electrical current at 1,000 volts is no more deadly than a current at 100 volts. But tiny changes in a current's amperage can mean the difference between life and death when a person receives an electrical shock.
Remember, it has been suggested a current of only 17 milliamps may induce ventricular (heart) fibrillation. With a hand-to-hand resistance of 1000 Ω, it would only take 17 volts to create this dangerous condition.