eli5: How do you not get electrocuted while welding?
In: Engineering
Like with most things in nature, electricity always takes the path of least resistance. So, while welding, you connect a ground to the piece you are welding. This provides a path to ground with minimal or near 0 resistance. Needless to say, this is much less resistance than traveling through your body.
This is my very limited understanding of the situation, hope it helps.
The voltage is much lower than what is required to go through skin easily.
The amperage is much higher than needed to kill.
Actually you can get electrocuted while welding, anything involving electricity possess potential threat, so don’t go dirty until you what are you doing.
Material being welded is grounded so you are “safe” as electricity will flow from material but if ground fails or is not properly connected to material electricity will take second best path and you don’t want to be part of it.
Two reasons. 1, welders isolate themselves from the electicity with safety gear, so it literally can’t get to them. 2, there is a path for the electricity to follow that has less resistance then the human body, so it goes along that path instead.
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