why don't birds get electrocuted when landing on wires?

Answer 1

Because they aren't grounded. If you lean a ladder against a wire you will be electrocued because the electricity has a path to get to the ground. The bird is just touching the wire, so the electricity passes without harming them.

Answer 2

Actually, if we were to sit on a power line and not touch anything else like the birds do, we would not get electrocuted! The reason for this has to do with the fact that current, a flow of electrons, flows along a path of least resistance. The electrons want to get to where they are going in the easiest possible way, much like a person might walk on the sidewalk instead of the grass because it is easier. When a bird sits on a wire and the electrons reach the part of the wire where the bird is sitting, the electrons have two options. They could go through the bird's feet and encounter a large amount of resistance or they could go through the metal. All metals are conductors which means that electrons flow through them easily. Because it is easier to travel through the metal instead, the electrons don't go through the birds feet, so the bird stays safe.

The same thing would happen if a person sat on a wire and the electrons would go through the wire instead of through the person. If, however, the person reached out to a tree or anything else connected with the ground, there is a new path of lower resistance and the electrons would go through the person to the ground, electrocuting him

Answer 3

one reason is that the wires are insulated.. and if suppose they are not insulated then also the birds are not electrocuted because.. there are actually not touching the neutral line.. they are only sitting on the phase line.. or else on the neutral line..

Now consider a hypothetical scene something like this.. a bird is sitting on the phase line.. u take a wire first touch one end of the wire to ground and touch other end of the wire to that bird.. that bird will die instantly... because the positive charge in the phase wire needs to flow to ground because earth is a bank of negetive charges.. (hey and u wear insulated gloves and do this experiment or else u will die first)

Answer 4

In order for electric current to flow through the bird, then one foot would have to be at a different electric potential (I.E.: different voltage) than the other. Since both feet are on the same wire, both feet are at the same voltage.

If the bird put one foot on the wire, and another foot on either another wire, or something that was grounded (zero voltage), then the voltage "difference" would cause electrons to flow through the bird, and he would be fried.

Answer 5

Electric wires are covered with thick rubber insulation. It's a safety measure to keep birds and electrical workers from getting electrocuted.

Answer 6

Its because you need a complete circuit for electricity to cause any damage so the bird would need to be standing on two wires to complete the cicuit and get electrocuted

Answer 7

There is a protected coating on the wires that protects them from getting fried . The ones that are open and don't have the protection, the birds just know not to land on them.

Answer 8

Like most electrical wires, they're insulated, so a bird isn't really touching a hot wire. If it wasn't, that bird would fry!

Answer 9

Current flows from ground to the potential - if a bird, animal or a human touches the power line and then is grounded .... look out

Answer 10

well, electrocution occurs when there is a sudden discharge of elecricity to the ground. birds dont touch the ground.