I'm sitting there at the bus stop and I started to wonder why birds don't get killed by a live power wire--channeling in 10,000+ volts of electricity.
Does anyone know?
2006-10-16 13:53:00 · 15 answers · asked by Anonymous in Pets ➔ Birds
That doesn't make much sense. Humans touch a wire, they get killed. But birds are BIRDS! They touch the wires, and then go to ground. Shouldn't that kind of contact kill them?
I'm a little confused here.
2006-10-16 14:01:39 · update #1
Its because they're not connected to the ground. The birds, because they're sitting free on the wires, don't get zapped. If they were like the workers who repair and reconnect the power lines, attached to the ground by a ladder, they would get fried as the ladder acts like a lightening rod and the electricity would jump from worker, through the ladder and straight to the ground. The reason wire workers don't get zapped is because they wear special rubber gloves that prevent serious accidents. If they didn't have the gloves they would be BBQ ed almost instantly.
2006-10-16 14:01:09 · answer #1 · answered by white_ravens_white_crows 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Have you ever wondered why birds and squirrels don't get zapped by electricity when they sit on electrical wires?
It's because they are not touching the ground, or in other words, they're not grounded. If electricity can't find a path to the ground, it stays inside the wire.
2006-10-16 15:58:02 · answer #2 · answered by Animaholic 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Its like this:
Mostly, electricity takes the easiest path it has, wires are mostly insulated, rubber or plastic coatings mostly. The metal in the wire is the easiest path for the electrons.
Sometimes though. On those high tension wires with lots of power, if a very large bird flies between the wires it gets zapped. Kind of like a bug zapper.
2006-10-16 14:18:49 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Some birds do get zapped. Large birds. They have to touch 2 wires at the same time, like when they take off from the wires, and their wings touch 2 different wires.
2006-10-16 13:58:02 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
larger birds like eagles hawks do cause of their wings being so big they touch a wire and say the pole at the same time creating a ground get zapped often!
2006-10-17 01:40:56 · answer #5 · answered by howie 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
because of the fact they are no longer grounded. electricity travels from the source, through it incredibly is load, to floor. If those connections are no longer made, contemporary won't flow. If a man or woman could carry off the ability traces without touching the floor on an analogous time, they'd not get electrocuted the two. attempt it :P EDIT: The insulation isn't sufficient to end electrocution, it merely reduces losses.
2016-12-13 09:35:10 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
They have to be touching something else at the same time other than the line they are on it has to be grounded as well meaning something that has a line going into the ground
2006-10-16 14:02:27 · answer #7 · answered by The gr8t alien 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The wires are insulated, what the actual wire is is rubber around the copper wire part that transports the electricity.
2006-10-16 13:55:58 · answer #8 · answered by hey2a 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Said power lines are covered with a plastic material for safety purposes.
2006-10-16 14:00:37 · answer #9 · answered by bigpaul 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I dont know. I see squrrels zapped all the time.
2006-10-16 14:00:01 · answer #10 · answered by Barrel_Racing_Cowgirl 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋