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this post was submitted on 11 Jun 2024
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This is probably a stupid question but would a battery even electrocute you in the water?
In the ocean? No. In the bathtub? Depends on the battery and what's attached to it when it hits the water, I guess. A car battery with the jumper cables on it thrown into a large enough bathtub to hold it? I wouldn't get in there.
No expert but do have an electronics degree and somee EE theory courses later in life. I don't think much would happen. Don't be a direct bridge across the terminals yourself and I don't think there will be much of an issue being in the same body of water as a battery with even close proximity.
But I could be very wrong.
Don't car batteries contain strong acid? Before jumping into the bathtub I'd want to make sure that the battery isn't leaking.
It says EV battery (because politics), rather than a traditional 12v car battery. The latter is usually lead acid, while the former is usually lithium-ion (LiFePO4 or Li-NMC)
That's a good point, and lithium batteries get sparky when the lithium gets exposed. In the boat example I'm not going to worry too much about lead acid batteries, if they leak it should dilute quickly. Honestly unless punctured, I'm not going to worry about the lithium batteries really either. You typically find out about punctures in those rather quickly. Like before the water is the issue.
Is lithium+water similarly explosive as sodium+water?
Yes but no. Chemically pure lithium reacts vere energetically with water. The stuff in batteries reacts too, but it's more like an unextinguishable toxic hellflare than an explosion. Pretty sure the batteries just keep burning under the water until the lithium is all gone.
Thanks for the explanation
I don't think they'll burn under water. The main reason battery fires are hard to extinguish is because at high temperatures, metal oxides in them decompose and release oxygen gas. So you can't extinguish the fire, but you can try to cool it down.
This deck on the NASA website illustrates that very little oxygen is released from a single cell
Per this video:
Submersing it in the ocean would probably cool it very quickly and put it out.
you're right. voltage differential takes the shortest path(s), so it'll just discharge itself p quickly. you are effectively isolated unless you're in between the terminals
People do sometimes get electrocuted in fresh water, but only when a boat in a marina has shore power (120V) and a bad connection of the hot side into the water. This can only occur with shore power, because otherwise the circuit can't leave to boat. It also doesn't occur in salt water because salt conducts electricity better than the human body.
An EV battery might have enough voltage, but the current would prefer to travel directly from - to + on the battery itself. You would have to literally get in the way of that for it to affect your body. Most situations where that could happen, such as touching the electrodes directly, would be almost as dangerous even when you are dry. And again, salt water would conduct it much better than your body, therefore bypassing you, as long as you don't get in the way.
I'm a college dropout, so I'll believe you.