Dangers of the Live Wire
Physics: AQA GCSE Higher, topic 2.4.9
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
- 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
- An electric shock from the mains electricity supply could be fatal (could kill you).
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.