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Chapter 24: Problem 12

What's wrong with this news report: "A power-line worker was injured when 4000 volts passed through his body"?

Short Answer

Expert verified
The news report is incorrect to state that 4000 volts passed through the worker's body because voltage does not pass or flow. It's the electric current, measured in amperes, that actually passes through and can cause harm.

Step by step solution

01

Explaining the Concept of Voltage

Voltage, also known as electrical potential difference, is the amount of electric potential energy per unit charge. In other words, voltage provides the 'push' that drives an electric current in a closed circuit. However, saying that 'volts passed' through the worker's body is incorrect because the quantity of voltage cannot pass or flow.
02

Explaining the Concept of Current

Electric current is the actual flow of charged particles. In the context of the news report, the electricity going through the worker鈥檚 body is the electrical current, measured in amperes (A). It is the electric current, not voltage, that causes the harmful effects when it passes through a human body, such as electrical burns or disruption of heart rhythm.
03

Clarifying the Relationship between Voltage and Current

According to Ohm's Law, the current passing through a conductor in a given voltage is directly proportional to the voltage and inversely proportional to the resistance, given by the formula \(I = V/R\), where I represents current, V is voltage and R is resistance. A higher voltage can drive a higher current, especially if the resistance (like the human body) is low. However, it's the current, not the voltage, that's flowing through the worker's body.

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Most popular questions from this chapter

A power plant produces \(1000 \mathrm{MW}\) to supply a city \(40 \mathrm{km}\) away. Current flows from the power plant on a single wire with resistance \(50 \mathrm{m} \Omega / \mathrm{km},\) through the city, and returns via the ground, which has negligible resistance. At the power plant the voltage between wire and ground is \(115 \mathrm{kV}\). Find (a) the current in the wire and (b) the fraction of the power lost in transmission.

What's the current in a \(47-\mathrm{k} \Omega\) resistor with \(110 \mathrm{V}\) across it?

A 1.0 -cm-diameter rod carries a 50 - A current when the electric field in the rod is \(1.4 \mathrm{V} / \mathrm{m} .\) What's the resistivity of the rod material?

Electric Current A wire carries 1.5 A. How many electrons pass through the wire in one second?

At a particular point in a material with resistivity \(\rho\) the current density has magnitude \(J .\) Show that the power per unit volume dissipated at this point is \(J^{2} \rho.\)
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