Note that "ground" is a slippery term. Your body (ostensibly "insulated")
can serve as a "ground" for minute currents. Ex: A neon test lamp will
ignite if one terminal is connected to the "hot" AC line and the other
terminal is held in your hand.
Bob Sciamanda (W3NLV)
Physics, Edinboro Univ of PA (em)
trebor@velocity.net http://www.velocity.net/~trebor
----- Original Message -----
From: "Bob Sciamanda" <trebor@VELOCITY.NET>
To: <PHYS-L@lists.nau.edu>
Sent: Tuesday, February 25, 2003 2:09 PM
Subject: Re: Power Lines
| | . . .
| | Now, just for the hell of it, with the lamp in your living room
| unplugged
| | from the wall, cut the wire off and scrape off the insulation
| | from one of the two leads at free end. Be careful that the bare end of
| | the other lead is covered with tape. Now put the plug back into the
| wall
| | and touch only the
| | exposed lead with your right hand.... NO SHOCK! Try touching that
same
| | lead
| | with both hands at the same time..... NO SHOCK! It's the same as
| trying
| | to light a 120V electric bulb with only one connection to the bulb.
| |
| | Are you willing to bet your life on the theory that you teach???
| | I am!
| |
| | Herb
|
| Careful trying this, Tina! You must make sure that every point of your
| body is well insulated from ground! I suggest using an AC voltmeter (
or
| a neon test lamp) as the first guinea pig instead of your body.
|
| ( Note there is some "Russian Roulette" here because, in standard
systems,
| one of the lines is connected to ground at the junction box.)
|
| Bob Sciamanda (W3NLV)
| Physics, Edinboro Univ of PA (em)
| trebor@velocity.net
| http://www.velocity.net/~trebor
|
|
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