Electricity 



227 



FIG. 128. 



Grounding the circuit. The faucet and water pipe lead the electricity 

 to the ground. 



Under no circumstances touch the wire from the faucet to the 

 binding posts of the fuse gap. Do only as directed. Explain 

 what would happen if you disobeyed these rules. 



Why a bird is not electrocuted when it sits on a live 

 wire. If a man accidentally touches a live wire that 

 carries a strong current of electricity he is electrocuted ; 

 yet birds perch on such a wire in perfect safety. If a 

 man should leap into the air and grasp a live wire, 

 hanging from it without touching the ground, he 

 would be no more hurt by it than a bird is. A person 

 who is electrocuted by touching such a wire must 

 at the same time be standing on the ground or on 

 something connected with it. The ground completes 

 the electric circuit which passes through the body. 

 An electric circuit can always be completed through 

 the ground, and when this is done, it is called grounding 

 a circuit. 



