Why don't birds get electrocuted when they land on an electric wire?
Answers
Answer:
Birds are able to sit on electrical power lines because the electrical current essentially ignores the bird's presence and continues to travel through the wire instead of through the bird's body. A bird's body is not a good conductor of electricity.
Electricity, similar to water, flows using the least amount of resistance possible. In electrical power lines, electricity flows along copper wires. Copper is an excellent conductor of electricity in that it allows electricity to flow easily along its surface.
A bird, on the other hand, is made of cells and tissues. These cells and tissues do not provide the electricity in the wire with an easier route to travel than the one it is already on. Because a bird's body is not a good conductor of electricity, the electricity essentially ignores the bird on the wire and continues to travel along the copper wiring to its destination.
In fact, humans would also be able to not be shocked by a power line if we hung suspended from the power line with both of our hands on the line and no other grounding objects around us.
Don't try that at home though since there are exceptions to these rules!