Does touching the Live wire makes it neutral?

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I think grounding gets rid of the stray charge that builds up on something, making it neutral. But here, although the hot wire is neutral, it does have an alternating voltage coming from whatever generator it is connected to, which can certainly shock you.

This could be true in DC current as well, if the wire is connected e.g. to a battery. The battery generates a certain voltage, and the shock you get is not long enough to deplete the whole battery.

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Updated on June 01, 2022

Comments

  • Admin
    Admin over 1 year

    If I have two 'hot' wires connected to a source and a load, and one of the wire is connected to the ground, this wire is called the 'Neutral'. But what happens if instead of using an additional wire to connect the 'live' wire to the ground, I use my body, I know that I would get an electric shock, but why, doesn't my body 'neutralize' the 'live' wire, just like a normal grounding wire that is connected to essentially make it 'neutral', causing no potential difference/voltage just like a regular 'neutral' wire?

  • Admin
    Admin almost 5 years
    But if no current flows how could we get 'electrocuted'? Doesn't touching the live wire makes it the same potential as the earth, thus no potential difference, and obviously no current, so how is 'shock' possible? (Or does the current only flow initially, then the voltage eventually becomes the same? )
  • V.F.
    V.F. almost 5 years
    @marshallbensin We get shocked when we touch live wire (and simultaneously touch ground), because the other wire, neutral, is grounded.
  • Admin
    Admin almost 5 years
    No, what I mean is when you bring a wire and connect it to a live wire to the ground, it technically becomes neutral right? So what happens if that 'grounding' wire is replaced by a person with his feet on the ground? Doesn't the person somehow neutralize the live wire?
  • V.F.
    V.F. almost 5 years
    @marshallbensin A person makes a poor grounding for the neutral. First to note is that, when such connection to ground of one of the wires is made, the only current flowing through the grounding person would be a leakage current due to parasitic capacitance I've mentioned, i.e., it would be pretty low current.
  • V.F.
    V.F. almost 5 years
    @marshallbensin Second, if, with that grounding in place, another person touches the other wire, while also touching ground, both people will be electrocuted. This would be similar to two people holding each other's hands, and using their free hands to touch two live wires. Third, if we measure the voltage on that "neutralized" wire, it will be smaller than before grounding, since the leakage current would divide the voltage, induced from the primary side, between the parasitic capacitance and your body. Let me know what other scenarios you would like to explore.
  • Admin
    Admin almost 5 years
    I'm still not getting it, please assume ideal circuits here. If a person touches a live wire, the live wire would be at the same potential at the ground right? Just like a grounding wire connected to another live wire to make it 'neutral'.
  • V.F.
    V.F. almost 5 years
    "If a person touches a live wire, the live wire would be at the same potential as the ground right?" If the transformer is ideal and the other wire is not connected to ground in any other way, that would be the case.