Because while not touching the earth, you are floating in the air which it is an insulator thus you have an open circuit.Elsa1234 said:Electricity travels from higher potential to lower potential then why don't we get an electric shock while holding aa high potential wire without touching the Earth ( we are also at lower potential)
Isn't our body's potential at lower level than the high potential wire to make the electrons flow from there inside ustonyjk said:Because while not touching the earth, you are floating in the air which it is an insulator thus you have an open circuit.
Yes, but you need a closed circuit to make the current flowElsa1234 said:Isn't our body's potential at lower level than the high potential wire to make the electrons flow from there inside us
You have to connect a circuit in order to detect the potential. For example if you connect a capacitor to only 1 terminal of a battery it will not charge.Elsa1234 said:it gains the same potential
Elsa1234 said:Isn't our body's potential at lower level than the high potential wire to make the electrons flow from there inside us
tonyjk said:Because while not touching the earth, you are floating in the air which it is an insulator thus you have an open circuit.
wud-wurks said:You are instantly at the same potential as the hot wire you have touched, but as their is no connection by your body to a lower potential no current flows and therefore you feel no shock.
Elsa1234 said:But when we connect an object to anyone of the terminals of a battery , it gains the same potential (maybe due to static electricity), we should at least feel some sort of shock
We can and do. When we connect our(isolated)selves to ANY potential not at our own, a charge will flow until we are at that potential. IF the potential is high enough (different enough from where we started) there will be enough charge flowing to give us a shock. For lower potentials, the charge will be small and the current flowing onto us will be very small because I = V/R. The charge that flows onto us will be proportional to the Capacitance of our bodies (as in charging any capacitor). The capacitance of a human body is around 100pF and the contact resistance can be high or low depending on how moist our skin is or if we're standing in a bucket of salt water!. 100pF is pretty low in terms of circuit components - compare it with a super capacitor with 1F capacitance or one of 1000μF in a hi fi amplifier. We just don't take much charge on board except from a very high potential object.Elsa1234 said:why don't we get an electric shock while holding aa high potential wire without touching the Earth ( we are also at lower potential)
It's all proportional. Not 'no current' - just a small current.davenn said:with smaller voltages around 40V or less, there is not enough voltage to overcome the body's skin (dry) resistance and allow a current to flow
Potential difference, also known as voltage, is the difference in electric potential energy between two points in an electric circuit. It is measured in volts (V) and is a measure of how much work is needed to move a unit charge from one point to the other.
Potential difference is directly related to electric shock. An electric shock occurs when a person comes into contact with a high enough potential difference, typically greater than 50 volts. The higher the potential difference, the more severe the shock can be.
Yes, potential difference can be harmful if it is high enough to cause an electric shock. A shock can lead to injuries such as burns, muscle contractions, and even cardiac arrest. It is important to be aware of potential difference and take precautions to avoid electric shock.
Potential difference can be measured using a voltmeter, which is a device that measures the voltage between two points in an electric circuit. It typically has two probes that are connected to the points being measured and displays the voltage in volts.
The two main factors that affect potential difference are the distance between two points and the amount of charge present. As the distance between points increases, the potential difference decreases. The greater the amount of charge present, the higher the potential difference will be.