how is it possible to short a battery with your bare hands?

Question

Would wetting your hands or wearing metal gloves short out the battery?

Answer 1

Why would you want to?

That being asked, you can short out any battery so long as you connect the two poles (+ and -) with a conductor. Your skin is a variable conductor. It conducts electricity really well when the skin is sweaty. Sweat is salt water for the most part. So if you have sweaty palms, for example, you could short out that battery. Skin is less of a conductor when it is dry.

In fact, this is one part of the polygraph, lie detecting machine. The theory is that liars get sweaty palms; the lie detecting machine detects this increase in sweat on the palms by measuring their conductivity. Check this:

"The polygraph, by far the most well-known device, is a machine that electronically measures changes in respiratory rate and volume, heart rate and blood pressure plus sweat gland activity, that indicate arousal of the autonomic (involuntary) nervous system." (See source.)

Answer 2

depends on how many cells in series make up the battery as even damp skin would not allow much of a current to flow-so hardly a 'short' circuit.Metal gloves would short a lead/acid battery(as in a car) but that's hardly 'bare hands'.

Answer 3

If anybody gives an answer, don't try it. The amperage between the two poles will give the person who trys it a SEVERE, DEEP burn.