2.4.9

Dangers of the Live Wire

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Dangers of the Live Wire

The live wire carries a large amount of electrical energy so can be dangerous.

Dangerous even when power is off

Dangerous even when power is off

  • A live wire can still be dangerous when the mains switch is open (i.e. the plug socket or light switch is turned off).
  • This is because it might still hold some potential difference.
  • If you touched the live wire, your body would supply a link between the supply and the ground.
    • This is an electric shock.
Electric shock

Electric shock

  • An electric shock from the mains electricity supply could be fatal (could kill you).
Connecting live wire to earth wire

Connecting live wire to earth wire

  • The live wire and the earth wire can never be in contact because this would remove the safety feature of the earth wire.
  • This would also take a huge amount of current, which would overpower the fuse.
    • The fuse would melt and could explode.
Jump to other topics
1

Energy

2

Electricity

3

Particle Model of Matter

4

Atoms & Radiation

5

Forces

5.1

Basics of Motion

5.2

Forces

5.3

Effects of Forces

5.4

Pressure

6

Waves

6.1

Wave Basics

6.2

Waves at a Boundary

6.3

Sound Waves

6.4

Electromagnetic Waves

6.5

Lenses

6.6

Heat & Radiation

7

Magnetism

8

Astrophysics

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