Have you ever seen an electrician using a screwdriver? What type of material is used for making its handle?
Answer
Yes. The metal rod of the screwdriver is steel, but the handle is made of plastic (or a hard rubber-like material).
Steel rod → good conductor → does the work at the screw
Plastic handle → poor conductor of electricity → protects the hand
Why it happens: if the electrician's screwdriver touches a live wire, electricity could travel up the steel rod. The plastic covering does not let electricity pass into the hand, so the current cannot complete a path through the body and no shock is felt.
Q2.
You may have also noticed the electrician wearing rubber gloves and shoes while working. What can be the reason for this?
Answer
Rubber is a poor conductor of electricity, so gloves and shoes of rubber keep the electrician out of the electric circuit.
For a person to get a shock, electricity must find a complete path — from the live wire, through the body, to the ground. Rubber blocks that path at both ends:
Gloves stop electricity from entering through the hands.
Shoes stop it from leaving through the feet into the ground.
Check it yourself: notice how a lineman also works on a wooden ladder, not a metal one. Wood, like rubber and plastic, is a poor conductor.