Direction of flow of Electrons during an Electric Shock

Question

Question:

What is the direction of the flow of electrons during an electric shock?

I was studying electrostatic force, suddenly a question struck my mind “What will be the direction of flow of electrons when I touch a live bare wire standing barefoot on the ground?” (Obviously I am not going to do that). Assuming that the current in the wire is small, I thought that the electrons would move from wire to my body then to the earth as electrons move from low potential (Wire) to high potential (Earth (Earth is neutral). But on thinking more deeply, I thought I am touching the wire of an electric circuit, not the negative terminal, then how can I comment that the wire I touched, the potential is low. I am seriously confused now.

What is the correct explanation for all this?

Answer 1

You are correct that if the wire has a lower voltage than the ground, then electrons would flow from the wire to the ground. If the wire has a higher voltage than the ground, then electrons would flow the other way. This completely depends on the voltage of the wire relative to the ground, which can be pretty much anything depending on the circuit.

It's probably worth noting, though, that the electrons themselves don't move very quickly. It is the collective effect of a lot of electrons moving that creates electric current. So when you are getting shocked, you are feeling the very slow movement of a lot of electrons.