Overhead power transmission lines have voltages ranging from less than 1000V (for connections within residential areas) to over 800,000V (for long distance/very high power transmission)!

These voltages are strong enough to kill a giant elephant if the power line falls on the elephant on the ground. Have you seen birds sitting on these live power lines comfortably without being electrocuted? Have you ever asked yourself why those birds are not electrocuted? Continue reading.... www.edmaths.com

Why Nigerian dey ask dis kyn question

Cutehector:
Why Nigerian dey ask dis kyn question

For knowledge and practical applications.

birds legs are fully dried with out a single blood in them that's y they are not sensitive.

Ebookmathswaec:
Overhead power transmission lines have voltages ranging from less than 1000V (for connections within residential areas) to over 800,000V (for long distance/very high power transmission)!

These voltages are strong enough to kill a giant elephant if the power line falls on the elephant on the ground. Have you seen birds sitting on these live power lines comfortably without being electrocuted? Have you ever asked yourself why those birds are not electrocuted? Continue reading.... www.edmaths.com

Electricity flows along the path of least resistance. Birds don't get shocked when they sit on electrical wires because they are not good conductors of electricity. Their cells and tissues do not offer electrons an easier route than the copper wire they're already traveling along.

zuby4real10:
birds legs are fully dried with out a single blood in them that's y they are not sensitive.

This is not true at all!

We are talking about thousands of voltage here which is capable of bleaching insulation in insulating materials!

I think it's because their claws have resistance against the power line wires.. If a wounded bird perches on the wire, then it's vulnerable to electrocution

Ebookmathswaec:


This is not true at all!

We are talking about thousands of voltage here which is capable of bleaching insulation in insulating materials!

he's right, their legs doesn't have blood and it's dry

Sleekydee:


Electricity flows along the path of least resistance. Birds don't get shocked when they sit on electrical wires because they are not good conductors of electricity. Their cells and tissues do not offer electrons an easier route than the copper wire they're already traveling along.

Good point!

But some birds still get electrocuted!

tosyne2much:
I think it's because their claws have resistance against the power line wires.. If a wounded bird perches on the wire, then it's vulnerable to electrocution

Maybe, maybe not.

sod09:
he's right, their legs doesn't have blood and it's dry

But some birds still get electrocuted!

Ebookmathswaec:


But some birds still get electrocuted!

mention...pls don't tell me about the birds that transform to human oo
yes bird are likely to be electrocuted but not with there legs.
inshort almost impossible cos the fur can't conduct electricity

sod09:
mention...pls don't tell me about the birds that transform to human oo
yes bird are likely to be electrocuted but not with there legs.
inshort almost impossible cos the fur can't conduct electricity

Insulation of some insulating materials is bleached or destroyed when a very high voltage passes through them. In other words, insulators like fur, plastics, rubber, air, etc can conduct electricity if the voltage is high enough!

Cutehector:
Why Nigerian dey ask dis kyn question

This is y nigeria can never move foward

I think that's because both claws perch close enough on the same wire so there's no potential difference. No potential difference means no flow of electrons and so no electric current.
However, if a part of the bird touches a second wire, the circuit becomes complete and electrocution occurs.

Ebookmathswaec:


Insulation of some insulating materials is bleached or destroyed when a very high voltage passes through them. In other words, insulators like fur, plastics, rubber, air, etc can conduct electricity if the voltage is high enough!

really...we learn everyday ,i will check up on it
thanks for d info

Allwility:
I think that's because both claws perch close enough on the same wire so there's no potential difference. No potential difference means no flow of electrons and so no electric current.
However, if a part of the bird touches a second wire, the circuit becomes complete and electrocution occurs.

i understand ur theory same tin apply to human

sod09:
he's right, their legs doesn't have blood and it's dry

There is no living thing that doesnt have blood vessels flowing all through their bodies. Then if they have no blood in their legs, its safe to say they are dead. They have a protective insulative layer covering their skin that makes then less vulnerable to electocution.

sod09:
i understand ur theory same tin apply to human

Oh it sure does apply to humans. In HSE, you are taught that if there's live voltage on the floor, you don't walk across the floor else you create a potential difference and get an electric shock. You hop like a bird to safety.

sod09:
really...we learn everyday ,i will check up on it
thanks for d info

You're welcome.

Ebookmathswaec:
Overhead power transmission lines have voltages ranging from less than 1000V (for connections within residential areas) to over 800,000V (for long distance/very high power transmission)!

These voltages are strong enough to kill a giant elephant if the power line falls on the elephant on the ground. Have you seen birds sitting on these live power lines comfortably without being electrocuted? Have you ever asked yourself why those birds are not electrocuted? Continue reading.... www.edmaths.com

I am really surprised and dismayed from the response I see from Nairalander regarding the answer to this question cos it is a reflection of inability of average science student to correctly analysis a simple scientific phenomena .I weep for future of science and technology in this country
Answers:
For current to flow between two points along a conductor ,potential difference must exist e.g Live and neutral (220v and 0v).
The bird on the sitting on the power line is touching points that have the same potential difference(same voltage) on the line so current cannot pass through it. For the bird to get electrocuted ,the other part of it body must touch lower potential part of the line eg Earth or ,neutral line .
This is a principle of potential difference .

sod09:
i understand ur theory same tin apply to human

I think same thing should apply to human! Pleeeeease! Don't go and try it oooo! It better to leave it as theory like that!

Okuda:


There is no living thing that doesnt have blood vessels flowing all through their bodies. Then if they have no blood in their legs, its safe to say they are dead. They have a protective insulative layer covering their skin that makes then less vulnerable to electocution.

blood don't flow on their legs.. u right they have protective insulative

Allwility:

Oh it sure does apply to humans. In HSE, you are taught that if there's live voltage on the floor, you don't walk across the floor else you create a potential difference and get an electric shock. You hop like a bird to safety.

100000000000000 likes!

Ebookmathswaec:


I think same thing should apply to human! Pleeeeease! Don't go and try it oooo! It better to leave it as theory like that!

for real, human can hold d live current with one hand but if the two hands hold it that roasting

honmusa:

I am really surprised and dismayed from the response I see from Nairalander regarding the answer to this question cos it is a reflection of inability of average science student to correctly analysis a simple scientific phenomena .I weep for future of science and technology in this country
Answers:
For current between any two points along a conductor ,potential difference must exist.
The is jsut touching a point that have the same patient difference on the line so current cannot pass through it.For the bird to get electrocuted ,the other part of it body must touch lower potential part of the line eg Earth or ,neutral line .

speak English Mr scientist ,we don't understand ur analysis

sod09:
for real, human can hold d live current with one hand but if the two hands hold it that roasting

That's what the theory says! Even with two hands! But the conditions are:

1. It must be the same wire not different wires.

2. The person must be floating in air ie the person's legs or other parts of the body must not touch any other thing.

Pleeeaasee again! Don't go and try it! It's better to leave it as Theory like that!

Ebookmathswaec:


That's what the theory says! Even with two hands! But the conditions are:

1. It must be the same wire not different wires.

2. The person must be floating in air ie the person's legs or other parts of the body must not touch any other thing.

Pleeeaasee again! Don't go and try it! It's better to leave it as Theory like that!

exactly!!!
lol, i wont try it mistake happens alot

electrical gurus, pls come and answer this efficiently, dunno what these posters above are yapping about.

If that bird stretches out a wing or a leg and touches a second wire, especially one with a different electrical potential, it will open a path for the electrons—right through the bird’s body and zaaap!

It’s not unusual to see lines of birds perched on power lines. But did you ever wonder why birds aren’t electrocuted by the currents that flow through these high-voltage wires?
You might think it’s because the wires are insulated, but they’re actually not insulated at all — that’s why downed power lines are so dangerous. No, the only reason why birds on power lines usually aren’t electrocuted is because the wire is the only thing they’re touching!
Why No Zap?
Like all energy, electricity seeks equilibrium, or balance. That means electricity will flow from high-energy areas to areas of less energy, always using the path of least resistance. So if the bird has one foot on our original wire, and the other foot on, for example, the ground or on a different wire with less voltage, the bird would be electrocuted. The electricity would pass through the bird on its way from the high-voltage line to the lower-voltage line or the ground.
But as long as both of the bird’s feet are on the same wire (or wires of the same voltage), the bird is safe. The current doesn’t have anywhere else to go, so the electricity won’t pass through the bird–it stays on the path of least resistance, the wire.
Don’t Try This At Home!
This would work for humans, too–if you were to hang suspended from one of these wires, you wouldn’t be electrocuted, as long as you didn’t get too close to anything else, like a telephone pole or the ground. But don’t try this experiment at home! If you want proof, just look up at the birds on the wires!

it's cos they have got no potential difference in thier leg, therefore there's no conduction of electricity