What would happen if you put two wires next to each other and then run an electric current through each of the wires?

Answer 1

there would be a current.

if you put your hand even near it, you

could get seriously hurt.

The real problem is that you cannot answer this question until you define what type of current is flowing through these wires. Direct current would be very stable and there is not much happening especially if the wires are straight and parallel to each other. If that is true you must also consider how close these parallel wires are to each other as this distance could be the difference between an interaction, or the lack thereof. If there is a pulsating direct current or an alternating current then there is an entirely different reaction.

Some 50 years ago when telephone wires required to be close to each other for thousands of miles in some cases, and there were nothing like light signals for the transmission of voice, then there were massive "cut ins" of minute Transformers every few miles, because these wires began to act like capacitors and there was "crosstalk" where conversations would be heard in different lines which were never truly connected. These pulsating direct currents radiated magnetic fields from these original wires into the wires of other connections which eventually caused these other wires to have currents generated in them, and it would actually cause the original conversations to be heard on the other line. This does not happen if a stable direct current is run through these same wires.

Alternating current is so reactive in this way that the whole transmission of this current is decidedly designed around this current transfer potential. In the form of low voltage high amperage energy is generated then transformed into high voltage low amperage current that is transmitted in huge lines spaced far apart where voltages are as much as 144,000 volts with relatively low amperage. Until it comes into distribution centers where it is converted to 7,000 volts with relatively higher amperage and eventually converted into 480 volts at the pole to be distributed to industrial or even residential customers who use it as 480 volts or more likely 240 volts to use in some utilities such as stoves, heaters and air conditioners or down to 120 volts for everything else.

Answer 2

If the wires are insulated, the electric current will flow through each wire separately. If the wires are bare and in close proximity, they may create a short circuit, causing a rapid discharge of energy and potentially damaging the wires or the electrical system. It is important to keep wires properly insulated and spaced to prevent short circuits.