Why are water and electricity a deadly combination?
Baths salts would make using that electric shaver in the tub even riskier…
Asked by: Ashley Martin, Hampshire
Water itself doesn’t conduct electricity particularly well, it’s the chemicals dissolved in it that are the source of the trouble. For example, the salt content of seawater makes it a million times better at conducting electricity than ultra-pure water. Even so, even a trace of water can prove fatal with high voltages. People have been killed thinking they can move live cables using a freshly broken tree branch.
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Authors
Robert is a science writer and visiting professor of science at Aston University. He likes maths, West End musicals and hamsters.
