I have read a few articles lately with stories of people getting shocked in lakes and swimming pools and getting either seriously hurt or killed. This led me to a few questions to help me better understand these situations.
I think I saw an experiement done once where a hair dryer was trown in a toilet and due to the fact that the ceramic toilet did not provide a path to ground the circuit breaker did not trip. I assume though that the water in the toilet bowl was energized to the same potential as the circuit. What if a hair dryer or other energized conductor was put into a pool but somehow the pool had no connection to earth (hypothetically speaking). Would all the water in the pool then become energized at the same potential as as the circuit? What if a person was in the pool floating. Would anything happen to them since their entire body would also be at this same potential? What if this person was touching the bottom of the pool would anything happen?
Now lets say that the walls and floor of the pool provided a connection to earth. What would happen to a person floating? Wouldn't they be at the same potential as the circuit and no current would flow through their body? Now if they touched the sides or bottom which was connected to earth then there would be a potential difference across their body and therefore current could flow.
Would the same situations above apply to a lake? I have read cases where people have been swimming (floating) in lakes and been electrocuted. I dont understand this because if they were not in contact with earth and their body was at the same potential as the water then how is current flowing through their body?
I think I saw an experiement done once where a hair dryer was trown in a toilet and due to the fact that the ceramic toilet did not provide a path to ground the circuit breaker did not trip. I assume though that the water in the toilet bowl was energized to the same potential as the circuit. What if a hair dryer or other energized conductor was put into a pool but somehow the pool had no connection to earth (hypothetically speaking). Would all the water in the pool then become energized at the same potential as as the circuit? What if a person was in the pool floating. Would anything happen to them since their entire body would also be at this same potential? What if this person was touching the bottom of the pool would anything happen?
Now lets say that the walls and floor of the pool provided a connection to earth. What would happen to a person floating? Wouldn't they be at the same potential as the circuit and no current would flow through their body? Now if they touched the sides or bottom which was connected to earth then there would be a potential difference across their body and therefore current could flow.
Would the same situations above apply to a lake? I have read cases where people have been swimming (floating) in lakes and been electrocuted. I dont understand this because if they were not in contact with earth and their body was at the same potential as the water then how is current flowing through their body?