Ever wondered if grabbing a live electrical wire would shock you? It sounds bold but reveals cool physics. Seeing birds chill on power lines, you might ask why they’re safe and if we’d be too. So, let’s dig into this: if a person hangs from a live wire with both hands, will they get shocked?
To get why they might not, know this about electricity: it needs a closed circuit to flow. That means a path from the power source, through a conductor, and back to the ground (or elsewhere in the circuit). No return path? The current stays in the wire, not through you.
Put simply, electricity moves only when it has somewhere to go. Birds on wires don’t give it an extra path. The current stays put, and they’re okay.