RiderLeangle on 4/2/2008 at 06:14
Know, Why birds don't get fried is because their feet don't conduct electricity, human skin does.
Martin Karne on 4/2/2008 at 06:24
No, is because they fail to touch two poles at the time.
Tocky on 4/2/2008 at 06:28
Obviously the best way to test this is to place the positive lead in your mouth and jump on a wet trampoline.
Martin Karne on 4/2/2008 at 11:16
It's basic electricity, the circuit needs to be closed, if the circuit is left open (one pole) no current will pass.
The closed circuit is complete due to the star grounding topology in step down power distribution transformers.
fett on 4/2/2008 at 14:16
Quote Posted by RiderLeangle
Know, Why birds don't get fried is because their feet don't conduct electricity, human skin does.
I hate to interrupt the nerd fest, but MY GOD if you mean "incorrect" please spell it No, and only capitalize common nouns at the beginning of sentences. Basic electricity my ass. Basic grammar please. PLEASE.
suliman on 4/2/2008 at 15:20
I thought birds don't get electrocuted because there is no major difference in the potentials of the contact points(i.e legs)?
Edit: More correctly, the points in the wire touched by the legs.
Matthew on 4/2/2008 at 15:50
According to every 'ask a question' website I've looked at:
'An electric current needs to flow through the bird's body and a body is not as good a conductor as metal.
Electrons flow from an area of high voltage to areas of low voltage and since the bird landing on the cable is instantly charged to the same voltage as the cable there is no need for the current to flow through the bird.
However, the ground has an electrical charge of virtually zero voltage. So anything touching the ground that comes into contact with the bird as it sits on the cable will create a flow of electric current through the bird towards the ground, resulting in death.
In the United States, large birds like eagles are often electrocuted on overhead cables. These birds can sometimes touch two cables at once, creating a circuit that kills them as they come into land. '
The_Raven on 4/2/2008 at 16:20
Quote:
'An electric current needs to flow through the bird's body and a body is not as good a conductor as metal.
Neither is dry human skin. Doesn't really matter if they're in the path of least resistance. That crap about you being safe in a car from a lighting strike because of the tires is the same thing. You're safe because the electricity travels around the chassis of the vehicle. If electricity can burn through the rubber coating of wires, it's not a stretch of the imagination that the shear power of a lightning bolt is enough to surpass the resistance offered by the tires.
EDIT: Nevermind, I read your post a little more closely and realized that you were actually saying the proper thing. I'm no electrical engineer, but the "instantly charged" thing doesn't really compute to me. I know that, somehow, they're both at the same potential.
Matthew on 4/2/2008 at 16:43
I will admit that I just copied that verbatim from somewhere, so I make no claim as to its veracity. ;)
37637598 on 4/2/2008 at 16:49
This brings up a question in my head... Let’s say the power supply was to fall in the water... The electricity from the hot lead needs to reach the ground through the least path of resistance... If the power supply falls in, the least path of resistance is to go through the immediate area of the water, back into the ground lead, not even coming close to the people in the water. The common ground of the house probably has no connectivity to the water in the pool considering the plastic or rubber floor of the pool may not conduct electricity... So, if the power supply fell in, would the electricity immediately find a path directly to the ground causing a short and a circuit breaker to shut off? (if the resistance of the water was little enough for the circuit breaker to detect a short) OR, would the electricity swarm through the pool of whatever reason, passing through the humans causing instant death or really bad shits for a month following?
