Fun Facts About Electricity :
Fun Facts About Electricity A spark of static electricity can measure up to three thousand volts. A bolt of lightning can measure up to three million volts – and it lasts less than one second!!!
Why Electricity Is Dangerous :
Why Electricity Is Dangerous You’ve probably been shocked before – by static electricity, like when you walk across carpet and touch something metal like a doorknob. But a real electric shock is a lot more painful than that, and a lot more dangerous. Here's what can happen: Lungs constrict, making it hard to breathe.
Heartbeat is interrupted and blood vessels tighten.
Burns occur where the electricity enters and leaves the body.
It sounds scary, and it is - but if you remember the safety rules, you can use electricity without getting hurt.
Muscles tighten up, making it almost impossible to pull away from the circuit.
Conductors :
Conductors The human body is a good conductor of electricity. That means that electricity flows easily through our bodies, because electricity moves quickly through water and the human body is 70 percent water!
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Another fact you need to remember is that electricity always tries to find the easiest path to the ground.
This picture shows what could happen if someone accidentally knocks a metal ladder against an unprotected power line:
The ladder comes into contact with the energized power line.
The electricity travels through the metal ladder to the man’s hands.
The electricity quickly moves through the ladder and the man’s body, trying to find the easiest path to the ground.
The power lines around your home have a protective covering. But it’s only to protect the power line from weather, NOT to protect you from the electricity.
Insulators :
Insulators Insulators keep electricity from leaving power lines. Glass, plastic, or ceramic insulators high up on power poles keep electricity from traveling down the pole to the ground. If an insulator breaks, or a power line becomes disconnected from the insulators that hold it up, the line can fall to the ground and energize the area around it with a lot of electricity. If you touch a downed line — or even the ground near the line — you could be hurt or killed. If a power line falls on a car and you touch the car and the ground at the same time, you would also get a shock. Insulating materials also keep electricity inside appliance cords. Rubber or plastic insulation around the cords keeps the electricity in the wires and prevents you from getting a shock. If this insulation is broken or wears off, the electricity can come through and shock you. Also, if you overload an outlet by plugging in too many things, cord insulation can overheat and melt, causing a shock and fire hazard.