I understand why you get harmed if you’re grounded, you’re becoming part of the wire and the electricity is going from you to the earth. what I dont understand is, why the electricity doesnt harm you when youre not touching the ground, isnt it going through you either way? how does it not affect your body?
In: Physics
Yes.. but don’t.
Birds can land on a live wire because, though they are touching the wire they aren’t touching anything else and the there is no path for the electricity. High voltage isn’t harmful if there’s no current flow, but they can get a bit of a zap when doing this as they go from zero volts to, say, 350 kV.
To do the same a transmission line worker can wear a metal suit that guides the voltage around their body and first contact the line with a ‘hot stick’ that allows them to be charged to the same potential as the line.
Or a high school teacher can touch a Tesla coil while standing on a stool. Same principle, just a lot less energy and risk.
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