• Question: Why don't birds get electrocuted when they land on an electric wire?

    Asked by anon-193397 to Morwenna, Jamal, iainstaniland, Heidi, Emma, Carl on 11 Nov 2018.
    • Photo: Emma Crawford

      Emma Crawford answered on 11 Nov 2018:

      The reason that birds don’t get electrocuted whilst they sit on power cables is that both the birds feet are at the same potential, so the electricity doesn’t flow through them. Secondly, the bird offers greater resistance to the electricity passing through it than the power cable, so the electricity will travel through the power cable. As long as the birds don’t touch anything else, such as the ground or another power cable, they will continue to sit up there, watching us, trying to spot worms for their breakfast!
      See more here: http://www.sciencemadesimple.co.uk/curriculum-blogs/physics-blogs/why-dont-birds-on-power-line-get-electrocuted

    • Photo: Heidi Gardner

      Heidi Gardner answered on 12 Nov 2018:

      Basically, birds aren’t very good at conducting electricity! When they land on an electric wire there are electrons travelling through the copper wire that they’re stood on, but electrons always take the path of least resistance, and the cells and tissues within the bird are not an easier route – so they stay with the copper wire route.

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