0
Very interesting...
A current will flow (or somebody will get electrocuted!) if there is a sufficiently high potential difference across him.
When birds sit on a wire (of high potential), the whole body becomes at a high potential, and there is no potential difference across it. Hence, no current passes through it and the bird is not electrocuted.
However, if a person, while standing on the ground, touches the same wire, he will be electrocuted.
add You've discovered one of the reasons why overhead electric wires are separated from each other. We do have blackouts caused by a bird or an opossum (Aus) bridging between the wires. In NZ in suburbia, almost all power poles have a wide metal band on them to stop the possums from climbing them.
Wiki User
∙ 13y ago
Add your answer:
Earn +20 pts
A bird sitting on the wire flies away if a high voltage is passed through the wire?
Not so. We see birds sitting on active high lines all the time.
Who is more likely to be hurt a bird sitting on a electricity wire or a boy flying a kite near an electricity wire?
Only the boy, flying a kite near an electricity wire, is in danger of being electrocuted. Especially if the kite string is damp, and the boy is standing on wet grass and wearing damp footwear.
Will the bird on the high voltage wire be shocked?
Apparently not. They don't drop to the ground dead while sitting on the wire, but are able to primp, preen, look around, and leave the wire when they feel like it.
How do you make a electro magnet with a wire and a nail and electricaty?
you dont make it. ull save time. you're welcome...
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.
How birds sitting on the wire?
you have to be incontact with the ground to get electrocuted!
Can birds touch each other while sitting on electric wire?
Yes. Because birds do not conduct electricity.
What happens if someone touches a high voltage wire?
If they are grounded they get an electric shock or electrocuted. If they are not grounded or in simultaneous contact with the neutral wire, nothing. That's why birds can sit on a high voltage wire and survive; they are not grounded.
A bird sitting on the wire flies away if a high voltage is passed through the wire?
Not so. We see birds sitting on active high lines all the time.
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 can a bird go on a wire and not die?
Birds don't get electrocuted unless they touch something else besides just the wire -- the electricity will then flow through their bodies toward whatever they're touching. Sometimes you do see birds that have been killed by the electric wires.
Why don't birds get electricuted while on a electric line?
To get electrocuted you need to complete an electrical circuit. That takes two wires or a wire and an "earth". A bird on a wire is not making a connection to a second wire or to the earth. Therefore no electricity flows and they are perfectly safe.
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.
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.
Will a man get electrocuted if he sits on one electrical wire?
if he had bunyans
Why do birds sit together on telephone lines?
For a start, most telephone wires are insulated and carry little or no electricity so, apart from falling off and hurting themselves, they won't get hurt on telephone wires. Really, you should have asked about why birds don't get hurt on overhead electrical wires. The answer is fairly simple really - to get electrocuted from those wires you need to complete the circuit, in this case touch the ground, for the electricity to surge through the body. Birds only sit on the wire and do not touch the ground, so they can't be electrocuted.
Why do electrical tools have insulating handles?
because if you touch a wire you might get electrocuted
