Why Can Birds Sit On Electric Wires And Not Get Electrocuted But Humans Can't?

BIRDS SIT ON ONE WIRE (EITHER THE HOT SIDE OR THE GROUND SIDE) OF THE THREE WIRE SYSTEM USED TO CARRY ALTERNATING CURRENT FROM THE SOURCE TO THE DESTINATION...example the generatores at a dam to your house.... IF ANYTHING CAN REACH ACROSS ANY TWO WIRES OF THIS SYSTEM THAT THING PROVIDES PROVIDES A PATH FOR ELECTRICAL (CURRENT) TO FLOW FROM ONE SIDE TO THE OTHER AND IN THE AMOUNT OF CURRENT DETERMINED BY THE ELECTRICAL RESISTANCE THAT THING PREVENTS THE PASSAGE OF ELECTRICITY. PRTMATIVE EXAMPLES WOULD BE: ORDINARY WOOD COMPARED TO AN ORDINARY STRIP OF COPPER; MAXIMUM RESISTANCE TO NO RESISTANCE. The ordinary example would indicate NO passage of electrical current to MAXIMUM passage of electrical current.

So a bird sitting on a single strand of wire and no part of its body touching another wire would provide no return path for the electrical current mainly because it's wings will only touch one wire. A human being MIGHT touch two wires and be electrocuted. It would be safe for a human being to work around electrical wires provided he/she (as does the bird) only touches a single source at any time.

The wire is not neutral - it is live. Birds do not get electocuted because they are not connected to earth and therefore do not complete a circuit through which the electricity can flow. Electricity takes the easiest route to earth, ie along the cable. There is no reason for it to take a detour through the bird if the bird does not form a shortcut to earth.

They're only touching ONE wire! Yes humans can do it too! The key is DON"T ground out or touch another wire!

You could if you could just fly and land on the wire. The bird is not completing the circuit by touching a ground. It is a grounding source that completes the circuit.

Yes touching one wire is key, also the amount of water in their bodies pales in comparison to ours as humans. Water being a good conductor of electricity. Humans do not necessarily have to touch the other wire, but merely just get close enough to have the conductor that runs in our bodies attract the electricity to jump to the path of least resistance.

Because its feet bad conductor of electricity

Because they are not grounded..

Because you have 2 be touching the floor as well you spas

Good question! I need the answer it will make a nice science fair project!

Because it is magic

The birds are not toucthing the ground

They have certain things in there feet that absorb the shock just like rubber absorbs electricity. Ant if you tried to stand on a wire it might break.

Because birds sit only on a single wire and it does not make a complete circuit on its body.

Because they make special wires so birds can sit on them.

actually, the electric current moves towards the earth. So, as birds have no direct connection with the earth, nothing happens to them whereas we standing on earth get a shock when we touch a wire.

Although telephone wires are low voltage and insulated to receive a shock the current has to pass through the bird to earth,so the bird would have to be in contact with a live wire and another conductor that is earthed.

Birds sit on the telephone wire if there is no people staring them, or play with them.

The distance between the feet of birds is too small to produce the big voltage to shock them.

There is enough electrical resistance in the bird to keep the current from going through the bird. The current tends to take the easiest way. It will want to just go through the wire instead of using more energy to go through the bird.

Anything can touch them they have rubber on the outside

Because they have rubber legs

Sometimes it wonders everyone when a bird don't get electrocuted when they stand on high tension electric wire.

It happens because its neutral.

I think it's because birds have different feet than ours which might act like an insulator

Poppy said that they know when its hot, they sense it, therefore avoid it. Apparently electric lines are on a timed system..maybe that's why they all take off at once, circle and the come back to the same spot. It might be true, my poppy is full of wisdom. Good fortune