And part 2: as soon as the electrical current is removed, does the water become immediately safe to touch again?
In: Chemistry
Water in itself cannot conduct electricity, its the impurities inside of the water that does. Minerals like iron and zinc. The water from your tap contains a lot of minerals that can conduct electricity.
Now for electricity to actually be conducted, there needs to be a difference in charge. Thats why there is a plus and minus side in your batteries. The negatively charged electrons are stored on the minus side, and want to get to the positively charged ions on the other. But they cant, because there is no “road” for them to get there. When you plug the battery into something though, its like you are giving it an highway. Now the plus and minus sides are connected through whatever device they are in. The electrons will start moving, and as they do, the device will recieve energy from it.
However, if you give it a shorter way to take, it will want to take that way instead. This is called short-circuiting. Basically what you are doing, is cutting a shortcut on that highway. You do this by adding somethint else that can connect the plus and minus sides. Like spilling water, the electricity will now take the water path instead since its shorter. And you most likely ruined the device.
If you conduct electricity through water, there is now a large electrical charge there compared to your own body. So when you jump in the charge wants to even out, and it will transfer energy into your body so that your body will get the same charge as the water. And you will very possibly die a horrific death.
If your body and the water has the same charge though, nothing should happen. This is why you sometimes shock yourself on static electricity. If you are sitting in a sofa static charge may build up slowly on you, but it will remain the same charge as the sofa. So when you go up and touch a door, the handle in the door has a different charge and it will want to even out. So you get a shock.
Latest Answers