How do Submarines, Planes, Ships, Spaceships, etc. Ground their electrical systems to prevent their entire surface from becoming an electrical hazard?
In: Engineering
The flying object itself becomes the “ground” or at least the “neutral” of their circuits. It may not be the same as the *actual ground* but that’s OK because nobody is going to be touching *both the ground and the aircraft* while it’s in flight, so no current can flow through them and cause harm.
The problem with an ungrounded stereo or computer in your house is you are likely to touch the ground and the electronics at the same time, so electricity could travel *through* you from the electronics to the ground.
Electricity requires a circuit to flow and a person touching something with high voltage *but nothing else* doesn’t form a complete circuit so they won’t get zapped.
So as long as the outer body, and the seats, and any touch-able parts of the electronics in an airplane are at the same voltage, nobody’s going to be hurt, even if that voltage isn’t exactly the same as the ground.
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