Why can birds sit on power lines without being shocked?

Answer 1

The short answer is they are not grounded. You can hang from a line also and not be harmed, but don't try it as if you do it wrong you can be severely hurt or killed. So what does "they are not grounded" mean? Electric current flows from high voltage to low voltage. The power line is high voltage. The earth, or ground, is low voltage. Anything in contact with the earth is also at the same low voltage. That is why there are insulators between the lines and the poles. The higher voltage the lines, the bigger the insulators. You can see this for yourself by looking at a high voltage tower versus a typical wooden power poll. When the bird lands on the line, it is only in contact with the line. There is no path to the lower voltage ground for the electrical current to flow thorugh. No current flow means no harm to the bird. People get into to trouble with power lines because they are almost always in contact with the pole or the ground when they, or something they are holding, touch the line, which means the current flows through them to the lower voltage. Note that the lower voltage does not have to be zero volts. It just has to be lower than the high voltage for the current to flow. It is not the voltage that kills you. It is the combination of voltage and current. No current or low current, no harm. When you scoot your feet on the carpet on a dry day and touch the door knob, a spark jumps and you feel a small snap. Your skin is charged up to 10's of thousands of volts, but there is very little current flow, so no harm is done. Hope this helps.

Answer 2

Birds can sit on powerlines without being shocked because, in order to be shocked, your body needs to be touching both the powerline and the ground at the same time, so that there is a path for current to flow.

If birds sit on a powerline, they aren't touching the ground. This means that they will not be shocked.

Another explanation

To be electrocuted you not only need a point at which the electricity enters your body but also a point at which the electricity exits your body. Because the birds are only touching one wire there is no place for the electricity to exit, and this prevents them from getting electrocuted.

Answer The resistance of the wire between the bird's feet is so low that the current passing through the conductor cannot create sufficient voltage drop to harm the bird. Should part of the bird come into contact with another line conductor, or an earthed conductor, then it will be killed.

Answer 3

It's because they aren't grounded and the current going through the wire, ignores the bird. A body isn't a great conductor compared to a copper wire. But when you touch the grounded part (where the transformer is), whatever that is touching that part of the wire is instantly grounded, therefore will be electrocuted.

Another thing to keep in mind, if you are ever outside of your car and a power line is on the ground, stay in your car. If you get out of the car, when your foot touches the ground the circuit is complete and electricity will be going through your body. It's your car's metal cage that keeps you safe.

Answer 4

becaue to be electrocuted you have to touch the floor AND the wire at the same time. because birds cant really do this they cant get electrocuted

Another Answer

For an electric current to pass through the bird's body, there must be a potential difference (voltage) across its legs. But its legs are connected to a very good conductor which means that the bird's legs must be at the same potential -no potential difference, no shock!

Answer 5

The bird sits touching only one line and nothing else through which electricity can flow to the ground. This means, no current flows through the bird's body.

Answer 6

Their feet are made for gripping on to objects like that along with their bodies so there good at balancing