Not The Onion

12111 readers

1805 users here now

Welcome

We're not The Onion! Not affiliated with them in any way! Not operated by them in any way! All the news here is real!

The Rules

Posts must be:

Links to news stories from...
...credible sources, with...
...their original headlines, that...
...would make people who see the headline think, “That has got to be a story from The Onion, America’s Finest News Source.”

Comments must abide by the server rules for Lemmy.world and generally abstain from trollish, bigoted, or otherwise disruptive behavior that makes this community less fun for everyone.

And that’s basically it!

founded 1 year ago

MODERATORS

[email protected]

219

Trump Finally Weighs in on Controversial Shark vs. Electrocution Debate (whowhatwhy.org)

submitted 4 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

46 comments fedilink hide all child comments

In a soliloquy on batteries for electric vehicles, including ships, he pondered what would happen if such a boat were to sink and the battery would submerge.

...

“It must be because of MIT, my relationship with MIT, very smart, I say, what would happen if the boat sank from its weight, and you have this tremendously powerful battery, and the battery is now underwater and there’s a shark that’s approximately 10 yards over there,” he said as MAGA supporters listened intently. “By the way, a lot of shark attacks lately. Did you notice this? A lot of sha…”

...

“So there is a shark 10 yards from the boat, ten yards… or here,” he said. “Do I get electrocuted if the boat is sinking, water goes over the battery, the boat is sinking? Do I stay on top of the boat and get electrocuted, or do I jump over by the shark and not get electrocuted?”

...

“He didn’t know. He said: ‘Nobody has ever asked me that question.’ I said, ‘I think it’s a good question. I think there is a lot of electric current coming through that water,’” Trump said. “But you know what I would do if there is a shark or you get electrocuted? I’ll take electrocution every single time.* I’m not getting near the shark.”

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments

[–] [email protected] 5 points 4 months ago

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.