Even if you are touching the metal shaft, you are still only touching one side which may be hot, but you don't have a complete path for the electricity to go thru you to ground (assumming you are wearing shoes and not touching anything else - or standing in water!). If you know the answer please explain. No lame guesses from morons please!
2007-05-03 05:48:20 · 7 answers · asked by wonderman 1 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Physics
You are right to question the the flowpath of the current. If your body isn't grounded you wil NOT be shocked. I have done this many times while working on live switches, etc.
The problem remains: What constitutes sufficient grounding to cause current to flow? A pair of shoes with rubber soles on a non-conductive floor has more than enough resistance to prevent noticable shocking. The difficulty is with all the grounding sources around the electrical outlet. The do-gooders who want to "improve" safety actually cause the odds of getting shocked to escalate by grounding everything in sight around electrical equipment, which increases the odds you will be touching something that will provide a return path for the current.
2007-05-03 09:54:34 · answer #1 · answered by Steve 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Trust me, it will shock you. I know, as a kid I did it and had the bejesus knocked out of me. So having done it, this is not a lame guess.
If you are perfectly insulated against the current, there will be none flowing through you. In which case, you will not be shocked. But, and this is a BIG BUT, unless you have special shoes and/or gloves, you won't be perfectly insulated. You will be the conduit from that outlet into natural ground (the floor).
Like water, electrical current follows the path of least resistance. That's why most outlets in the U.S. and E.U. now have three holes rather than two. That third hole is a grounding hole; so that if there is a short circuit, the expectation is that the current will flow through the grounding hole and not through some person touching whatever shorted.
2007-05-03 06:05:55 · answer #2 · answered by oldprof 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
well I actually did this when I was little but not with a screw driver I used a long wire. I never got shocked however the electricity arced from one side of the outlet to the wire and heated the wire up so quickly that I got a third degree burn on my hand
2007-05-03 06:24:53 · answer #3 · answered by starphox 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
In order to get power (electric current) to a appliance, one must plug in the metal prongs at the end of the cord of the appliance....right???
sooooo metal screwdriver blade, in the hole that is made for the electrical cord...brings the current through the screwdriver into your hand...got it..?
2007-05-03 05:55:13 · answer #4 · answered by wahoo 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I think the real question is why would you need to stick a screwdriver in an outlet in the first place?
2007-05-03 05:56:01 · answer #5 · answered by Brock Lee 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Your shoes likely don't have enough resistance to keep you safe. It only takes a few miliamps of current to kill you.
Yes, if nothing else, it will shock you. It may not kill you, but you will be shocked.
2007-05-03 05:53:55 · answer #6 · answered by Jeff 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Your body will have a voltage potential across like a capacitor. The alternating current will charge your body.
j
2007-05-03 05:55:39 · answer #7 · answered by odu83 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋