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my sir told me that he will get a shock, but why not bird then he replied bird has legs acting as insulators i am in confusion what is the right explanation to this

Qmechanic
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Piyush Baweja
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  • Read about birds here https://engineering.mit.edu/engage/ask-an-engineer/how-do-birds-sit-on-high-voltage-power-lines-without-getting-electrocuted/ . Their not getting shocked has nothing to do with their legs. So the person will not get a shock unless there is a contact which will allow electrons to go through. – anna v May 05 '23 at 04:32
  • Sounds like confusion. Birds have legs that are thermally insulated, but that is not the reason they don't get a shock (at least on a low-ish voltage line). If they get across the phases on a HT line they will die, even with insulating feathers in the way. Apparently they will avoid energized 200kV+ lines. Such lines arc to service helicopters as they get close to contact, and there may also be corona discharge with unpleasant ozone odor. – Spehro Pefhany May 05 '23 at 07:01

1 Answers1

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my sir told me that he will get a shock,

No, he will not get a shock. Because he does not touch the ground, a current cannot flow from the wire through his body to the ground.
Only if he would touch the wire and the ground (or two different wires of the high-voltage line) at the same time, a current can flow through his body.

but why not bird then he replied bird has legs acting as insulators

No, that is the wrong reason why the bird does not get a shock. The bird's legs are conductors, not insulators.
There is no voltage difference between the contact points at the bird's left and right foot. Therefore no current flows from the wire through the left leg, the body, the right leg, and then to the wire. (For more details see this question.)
Only if the bird would touch the wire and the ground (or two different wires of the high-voltage line) at the same time, a current can flow through its body.

Thomas Fritsch
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