Electrical 'grounds'

Why can I touch a hot 120 volt wire in one hand and a good common grond wire in the other and not get shocked{ or maybe a slight tingle) this is not because of dry skin ?
- Ivan Ruder (age 57)
Metamora, Illinois

Hello Ivan,

Well there are 'grounds' and 'other grounds'  that are not quite the same.  There might be considerable resistance between them.   The ground you were touching may not be the same as the ground that the generator of the 120 volts was connected to.  Dry skin also has a lot of resistance, however, I advise you to not repeat this experiment.

 

LeeH

(published on 03/05/2014)