how come when birds land on electrical lines...nothing happeneds...but when we touch them we get fried??
2007-06-03 15:46:49 · 11 answers · asked by Sugar_Plumzz 3 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Engineering
Short answer, because the bird is not "grounded".
Check the following site...it answers your question pretty well.
2007-06-03 15:49:25 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
The fact that you are grounded.
Some lines are insulated and some birds do fly between to lines and cross phases. Squirrels will stand on a transformer lid which is metal and grounded and grab whats called the stinger or hot line and get zapped usually causing an outage. As long as bird dont reach over and touch enother phase they should be fine. You should never mess with electrical lines unless you have proper training and PPE personal protective equipment including gloves, dielectric overshoes, hardhat, etc.
2007-06-03 22:55:26 · answer #2 · answered by ? 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The birds are not grounded therefore the current passes through them without coming to a sudden stop. An electric shock occurs because the energy has no place to go and all the molecules slam into each other at the speed of light.
2007-06-03 22:52:01 · answer #3 · answered by Alex B 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If the bird touches only one phase, he is perfectly OK. Have his wings touch two phases at the same time, or be big enough to touch a phase when standing on a cross arm , and it's bye bye birdie (wood poles are not a good insulator, especially if wet). Linemen work with gloved hands out of bucket trucks. The buckets and gloves are tested on a regular schedule for their insulating quality. They have to be very careful to be in contact with one phase only. There is always a safety observer, normally the Foreman, monitoring the work. One of his primary concerns is that the Lineman is maintaining safe clearance distance. The distances are specified and different depending on the voltage.
A bird, being smaller, is less likely to "violate safe working distance". When he does, the results are similar to what happens when we get careless.
2007-06-04 01:46:42 · answer #4 · answered by Jim M 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Electricity needs a complete circuit in order for the current to flow - live wire to ground.
If the bird was to put one foot on the wire and the other on the ground it would be instantly fried to a crisp, or vaporized, depending on the voltage.
2007-06-03 22:53:09 · answer #5 · answered by LeAnne 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The circuit needs to be completed in order for current to flow. If the bird were to touch the return wire aswell (or ground) it would be fried because it would provide a path for current to flow through.
2007-06-04 00:10:17 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Electricity takes the shortest route to ground so as long as the bird is not grounded, the electricity continues to ground via other shorter route. If the bird has one leg (albeit long leg) and is somehow gounded, BAM! to paraphrase Emeril Lagasse, fried birdy anyone?
2007-06-03 23:07:18 · answer #7 · answered by ZICO 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The bird is not touching ground ( the other part of the circuit) and we complete the circuit when we touch the bird because we are standing on the ground
2007-06-04 11:52:33 · answer #8 · answered by Lee H 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
we are on the ground, the electricity flows into us on the way to the ground, but it passes the birds by on the way to a better place...
2007-06-03 22:51:24 · answer #9 · answered by pechorin1 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
They arent gounded.
2007-06-03 22:48:27 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋