Would a person receive a shock/risk death if they completed two ends of a neutral wire?

Question

I know this seems like a silly question but I'm trying to make sure I understand the neutral wire. So I know if someone touched a neutral wire (assuming everything is wired 100% correctly) carrying current, they would not receive a shock because they are at the same potential of the earth which the neutral is hooked up to. However, it is carrying current, which is what causes a shock/kills a person. So in a perfectly wired scenario, say a person grabs hold of the neutral wire exiting an appliance and also the neutral completing the circuit to the end of the source.

(Here is a picture of scenario, all values are completely arbitrary. The 1k resistor represents the appliance while the 1 Ohm resistor represents the person)

Even though this person remains at a single a potential, the current has no choice but to travel through them right? And since current is what kills people, this scenario could be deadly given enough amperage, correct?

Answer 1

When you cut the neutral the side connected to the load is no longer neutralised and is connected to live through the load resistance/ impedance. That means that when you grab both wires the mains circuit will be completed through your body. A potential divider will be formed by the load and your body and due to the high resistance of your body most of the voltage drop will be across you rather than the load (except for very low current devices)

^{simulate this circuit – Schematic created using CircuitLab}

Figure 1. Breaking the neutral causes one side of the break to go live. The current is limited by the load (the lamp in this case).

Closing the circuit with your body would, most likely, not end well.

Answer 2

If you get between the appliance and the return circuit that will be bad.

If you come in contact with a neutral that is grounded elsewhere and is carrying current in a complete circuit that is less bad, most of the current will continue to flow in the wire as it presents a much lower resistance than than you do. If something was to break the neutral you would find yourself in the first situation.

There are situations where neutral is not grounded, these include SWER supplies and UK building site power, in those situations touching "neutral" would likely result in electric shock.

Answer 3

I think your circuit diagram is wrong. If you just "touch" a wire, you simply have a path from the touch point through your body to earth ground (or whatever other potential you are connected to).

In most cases, neutral is also (more or less) at the same potential than earth ground, so the potential difference across your body is zero and no current flows through your body.

What you actually have drawn would require you to cut the neutral wire and grab both ends of the split. That is indeed a bad idea since now one hand is on neutral potential and the other one is connected to the voltage source through the load. If the load impedance is relatively low, most of the voltage drops across your hands & arms and significant current will flow through your body. In other words: DON'T DO THAT.

So in general if the neutral wire is at the same potential as earth ground, you can touch it without any ill consequences. HOWEVER, it's never guaranteed that the neutral is at or close to ground potential, so it is NOT SAFE to touch a wire without verifying with a proper measurement device that's indeed safe to do.