Electricity Travels in Loops - A Simple Explanation

A question came up from one of Dustin’s apprentices regarding the service loop at a residence. The question was (and I am paraphrasing here) “what would happen if I cut one of the service entrance conductors? Would it blow up or ??” In the latest episode of Electrician U, Dustin answers this question by explaining the loop theory of electricity.

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First, before we get started, unless you are qualified and allowed to (by the local utility) cut the service entrance conductors, PLEASE DO NOT CUT OR TOUCH THEM!! Leave this work to the professionals. Even if you are an electrician, unless you have experience with and are trained in doing it, PLEASE DO NOT CUT OR TOUCH THEM!! The potential current that is available on those conductors is massive and will result in serious injury or death if not handled properly!!
Ok, on to the lesson! In a nutshell, electricity travels in loops. Take the transformer on the pole outside your house. For the SECONDARY LOOP, on the transformer end, both wires are connected together. As those wires travel to your house, there is no current moving on them until the point where you plug something into the receptacle and close the loop on this other end! Also concerning that same said transformer, on the PRIMARY side, the same this is occurring. The wires are connected together in the transformer, and when connected together on the other end of the primary loop (at a generator or something like that) THEN current can flow on that side!
So, if you were to cut one of the secondary wires coming from the pole to your house, nothing would happen as long as it didn’t touch anything else. But if you were to cut two wires together or let the one cut wire touch something grounded or another phase, so much current would travel so fast that a fairly large explosion would happen! Even to the point of melting the WIRE ITSELF, the insulation, and anything else in its way! Therefore, we should leave this type of work to the professionals!
We hope this video has been informative and helpful regarding the cutting of the service wires and electrical loops. Please continue to follow Electrician U as we are constantly adding new content to assist our followers in their electrical careers!