How far away can you be electrocuted in water?

Basic principles suggest that the answer is ‘very close’ – within maybe tens of metres – so long as you are totally immersed in the water when the lightning strikes.

Can you get electrocuted through water?

Electrocution in water poses a serious and deadly danger to everyone who swims in a lake or a pool. It occurs when faulty wiring or poorly maintained equipment releases an electrical current into the water which enters people’s bodies, paralyzing their muscles and causing them to drown.

How do you touch a live wire?

What to do if someone touches a live electrical wire

1. Don’t touch them directly. If you see someone come into contact with electricity, do not touch them directly.
2. Shut off the power, if possible.
3. Separate them from the source.
4. Call for help.

What happens if you swim with a live wire in water?

So the live wire in the water can be even more dangerous as the neutral can anywhere across the swimmer’s body. The more chemicals like cleaners or salt there is in the water, the more conductive the water becomes. Of course the pure water is highly resistive and a body could act like a short circuit in it.

What happens when a wire touches the ground and water?

Large amount of current will flow heating the wire, the path inside water to which electricity was traveling will be heated and the water will begin to boil near to that path. A person may get an electric shock if he is in touch with ground and water simultaneously.

What happens if a live wire is dropped into a river?

2. If the live wire drops in the river near you…the ions present in water commonly H+ and OH- as well as other free ions such will conduct electricity and you’ll get a huge electric shock which will create the end result as your death as well as the death of the creatures in the water body as water is a good conductor of electricity.

Does Lightning spread vertically or horizontally?

Most of the electrical discharge spreads horizontally rather than vertically. This is bad news for people, who tend to float or swim on or near the surface. The lightning current is likely to radiate across the surface.