I found something on reddit about this. Basically it goes like this:
If there is a broken live electrical post falling down on your vicinity, you need to hop up and keep your feet close together instead of walking.
The explanation for this is that if your feet are far apart, there’s a difference in potential between your feet. How does this work?
I really don’t understand what the internet says and maybe someone could get me the answer if it’s eli5’ed to me. Thanks reddit!
In: Physics
In a lot of ways, electricity is like water flowing. Both electricity and water go down the path of least resistance. Both try to spread out to equalize pressure.
Lets say you have one foot on the ground and it is very electrically charged due to a power line. A portion would go into your foot just because your body has less charge than the ground, and like water it’ll try to release pressure where there is less pressure. Think of that like water bottle full of air connected to a water valve. a bit of water would flow into it, but not much before the water/air pressure pushes back to stop any more getting in. That’s not great, yet not as bad as it could be. Place two feet together, and it’s mostly the same thing. Electricity flows in both legs equally since the charge or ‘pressure’ is more or less the same where both touch the ground. Once you have as much charge as the ground the current stops. You are no longer the path of least resistance since that extra charge given to you equalizes the ‘water pressure’.
Place your feet apart, and it’s less like a bottle and more like a tube. If one end of the tube there is more pressure than the other, the water will flow from the high pressure portion to the low. If for instance the electrical charge on one foot is higher because it is closer to the downed power-line than the other foot, that charge may choose to flow through you rather than the ground if you offer it less resistance than the ground. This flow or current is what’s damaging to your body as it causes intense heat. It is particularly damaging if it flows through your heart on the way from one foot to the other since the electricity will paralyze your muscles.
That’s why many electricians work with one hand at a time when they can rather than both. A charge may move from one hand to the other, and cause their heart to seize up along the way.
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