How far do electric currents travel in water? If I throw a toaster in the ocean, what would the impact be, if any?
In: Biology
Electric currents in water behave a bit like ripples in a pond; they spread out from the source but weaken as they get farther away. Water conducts electricity due to minerals and salts dissolved in it, which carry the electrical charge. However, the conductivity of water can vary significantly based on these minerals and salts.
When you throw a toaster into the ocean and it’s plugged in and turned on (hypothetically, because this is dangerous and shouldn’t be tried!), it introduces electricity into the water. Saltwater, like ocean water, is a good conductor because of its high salt content. This means the current can travel further in the ocean than in freshwater. However, even in saltwater, the current quickly dissipates over distance and depth, weakening significantly. The amount of electrical current the toaster can emit before its internal circuit breaker trips or it otherwise fails also matters. Household appliances don’t carry enough current to affect a large area of the ocean. The area immediately around the toaster (a few meters at most) would be dangerous to marine life and humans due to the potential for electric shock. Beyond this small zone, the electricity’s intensity quickly drops off to non-dangerous levels.
So, if you were to throw a toaster in the ocean, the impact would be localized and wouldn’t spread very far at all.
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