Electric Shock

1.Touch any one terminal of a battery, and you won't experience any electric shock.

1.Touch any one terminal of a battery, and you won't experience any electric shock.

Why does this happen?

An electric current needs a closed path to travel.

·        When you touch only one terminal of a battery, current has no path to travel back to the battery and hence you are safe as no current would flow through your body.

·        Now, if you touch any one terminal of a socket outlet, a current equal to 230V/(~1700 Ohm*) will flow through your body. *- resistance of human body is roughly around 1700 Ohm.

This is because, the neutral(N) terminal of the transformer which feeds power to your house is grounded, i.e. earthed(one of its terminals is immersed into earth/ground). When you touch any one terminal of the socket, current travels through your body to earth, and through earth back to the transformer neutral terminal which is immersed into earth. This completes the circuit and offers a path for the current to flow. So, it shakes you off with a shock! A battery is never earthed, and hence this does not happen in case of a battery.

#AAYUSH BHARDWAJ