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Why doesnt a bird standing on a high voltage wire get electrocuted?
Wiki User
∙ 11y ago
The wires are coated in rubber.
Wiki User
∙ 11y ago
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Why don't birds on electrical wires get electrouted?
Birds standing on a single electrical cable do not get electrocuted because there is no path for the current to flow. For electrical current to flow, there needs to be a difference in potential at at least two points. For example, if a bird was standing on one cable and touched another with its wing, the potential difference (voltage) between the two cables would cause a massive overcurrent to flow through the bird, instantly killing it in almost every case.
Why do birds not get sparks when flying near high-voltage lines?
If the bird is large enough to touch two different phase voltage lines or a grounded conductor ans a voltage line simultaneously it will be electrocuted. Just touching one line (and not a conductor leading to the ground) will not create a potential difference and so no current will flow.
How come birds can land on power lines without being electrocuted?
The high voltage is between one wire and the other. From one point on the wire to another point on the same wire, the voltage is quite insignificant. As long as the birds don't touch both wires, nothing much will happen. The wire does not have a difference in voltage from foot to foot. The term "high voltage" refers from wire to ground. Electricity flows down a voltage gradient. There is no gradient of voltage between the feet.
How come birds on electric wires dont get electrocuted?
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!
How does bird land in wires without getting electrocuted?
The outside of cables is coated in a protective sleeve - that insulates the wire from the weather. So long as the bird doesn't touch the conductor - it's fine.
How is it possible for a bird to sit on an electric line without getting electrocuted?
Unless the bird contacts two wires at the same time, the electric current will not pass through the bird.
Why do big birds get killed by power lines but little birds don't?
The wingspan on a big bird is large enough to touch two wires at once. Any difference in voltage between the wires will cause current to flow through the bird, perhaps killing it. Small birds can only touch one wire at a time.
When you touch the high voltage wires you feel current but when birds sit on them they do not feel currentwhy?
Because you're standing on the ground. But the bird contacts only the wire, sothere's no path through the bird for current to flow from the wire to anywhere else.
Why do birds not electrocuted when they are staying on live wire or wires?
Power lines are insulated and as long as they don't touch the ground (or another object) they won't be electrocuted.AnswerMost power lines are not, in fact, insulated because they are already surrounded by an insulating media -air.The reason that birds don't get electrocuted is because each foot is at the same potential and, for current to flow (it's the current which causes electrocution) through its body, each foot must be at a different potential. The bird is safe, providing another part of its body doesn't come in contact with one of the other conductors.
What is the National bird of Greece?
greece actually doesnt have a national bird
Why is it that a bird doesn't receive shock when it stands on a power transmission line?
There needs to be an appreciable voltage drop (I'm not sure what sort of voltage will electrocute a small bird) between the bird's feet if it is to receive an electric shock. As the resistance of the cable between the bird's feet is insignificant, the voltage drop, too, will be insignificant and the bird will not be harmed.
How does the bird stop itself from electrocution?
It doesn't need to. In order for electricity to flow, there has to be two connections, one to the positive and one to the negative. When a bird is sitting on a wire, it is not grounded, so it does not get electrocuted.
