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Inside the GFCI is an electrical device that constantly compares the current on the two wires of an electrical circuit. If, at any time, the electrical device detects an imbalance, the GFCI shuts off the circuit.

Most electrical shocks occur when a person touches the LIVE wire of a circuit while grounded in some other way (such as standing barefooted on concrete). The GFCI detects that imbalance and shuts off the circuit so quickly that we often don't even feel the shock.

As a word of caution, don't depend on the GFCI as a substitute for common sense. If you aren't touching some kind of grounded surface, the GFCI will not function. In that situation you are nothing more than another resistance load. Also, if you feel that the GFCI will protect you and ignore normal caution around electricity, you may encounter a circuit that is either NOT protected with a GFCI, or you may encounter a GFCI that has failed. Either way, always use caution when doing anything with electricity.

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