Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Science/2021 October 17

= October 17 =

How a bird touching two wires would electrocute it?
I discovered that a bird touches two wires at once, it will create a circuit — electricity will flow through the bird and likely electrocute it.

How a bird touching two wires would electrocute it? I understand there is no ground between two wires, net potential differences is zero then how current flows through bird? Rizosome (talk) 02:41, 17 October 2021 (UTC)
 * Here's an explanation: ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 05:46, 17 October 2021 (UTC)


 * It's very unlikely that two overhead electricity cables (assuming that's what you mean by wires) will be close enough for a bird to come in contact with both of them at the same time. But there is normally a big potential difference between adjacent cables (see Three-phase electric power) so they have to be kept apart so that the wind cannot cause them to come into contact and cause a short circuit.--Shantavira|feed me 08:28, 17 October 2021 (UTC)


 * One suspected cause of the Roc becoming extinct, along with the decline of its preferred food. Clarityfiend (talk) 20:26, 18 October 2021 (UTC)
 * That must be how Popeye subdued the Roc in his voyage to see Sinbad. He sliced and diced the cooked bird into small nuggets and then opened a restaurant where one could buy a piece of the Roc. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 21:20, 18 October 2021 (UTC)


 * This YouTube clip shows a very large number of birds on power lines that apparently make a circuit when they all fly off at once (at 2:35). Perhaps several birds are close enough together that the current can jump the gap? Alansplodge (talk) 15:56, 19 October 2021 (UTC)


 * Tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of birds are estimated to be electrocuted annually. Wildfires are sometimes started by electrocuted big birds catching fire (suggested web search: bird causes fire power line).  A bird does not even need to touch two wires; flying close enough can make high voltage spark through air.
 * There indeed is a voltage difference between wires - otherwise what would be the point of having more than one wire. Distribution networks usually have at least two wires, though single-wire earth return installations exist mostly in remote areas.
 * There are a lot of things to unpack on this topic, depending how you imagine how things like "ground" work in electricity distribution. 85.76.79.135 (talk) 16:15, 19 October 2021 (UTC)