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I know that when a bird is sitting on a high-voltage power line, virtually no current flows through the bird because there is (almost) no voltage drop between its legs, the two points are equipotential (as discussed here: How much of current flows through a bird sitting on a power line?)

I wonder what happens though,in the exact moment when the bird lands on the line, as there is a potential difference initially, so for a short time there is a current flowing. I think electricians working on high power lines (e.g. descending from a helicopter) wear a Faraday suit to prevent this sudden charging up from causing harm.

Does this affect birds landing on high-voltage lines?

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AndrasG
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1 Answers1

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The potential difference between the two points on the wire is negligible at all times but initially there's a potential difference between the wire and the bird and there would be a (very short lived) transient current which is similar to electrostatic discharge you feel when you touch an object with electrostatic charge build-up.

Azad
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