Maybe not the best title to explain what I mean, English is not my first language.
I just saw pigeons in a train station, sitting on electric wires. Obviously it does not die since it does not have contact to the ground or anything else that could transmit the electricity.
But how does the electric current notice if there is a way through the pigeon (or anything else) or not? Since the pigeon is alive, the current apparently does not flow through it?
So how does the current know?
Yes, I’m not the best in physics lol
In: Physics
Charged particles become “aware” of their surroundings by spontaneously emitting and absorbing photons (as a result of fluctuations allowed by quantum mechanics). Photons are just light. Thus an electron “decides” on its best path by emitting and recieving light, which moves so much faster than the current that it seems instantaneous.
There is a whole different discussion on why the wire is a better path than through the bird and then the air, but I don’t think that’s what you’re asking for.
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