shock risk

[vibetime]

could someone clarify this for me - a live 230v main feeder cable becomes faulty and becomes in contact with the ground which im stood on, this cable is straight from the supply transformer and fault occurs before main cut out. would i recieve a shock due to my feet been apart creating a p.d , or would i be ok as im at earth potential and not touching the live cable , hence no complete circuit ?
odd question i know, but this could of been an issue for me and just want to be clear

 

[westie101]

Depending on the ground resistance you could get a voltage gradient from the point of contact to zero volts, whilst I am not aware of cases where this has affected a person farm animals can be affected.
The problem is worse the higher the voltage such that a lot of our plant is installed to prevent voltage gradients forming (though we still have to wear insulated boots)

 

[flameport]

If your feet were apart, then yes, you could get a shock.
The voltage where the cable touches the ground is the full 230v, and as you move away from it, the voltage falls.

Therefore the shock depends on how far apart your feet are in a direct line away from the fault. For people this isn't usually an issue, as feet are normally close together. This can be a significant issue for 4 legged animals, such as cows, horses etc. as their feet will always be far apart.
The same effect can occur near an earth rod when there is a line-earth fault.

 

[vibetime]

ok makes sense, anything connected to the earth ie a metal pole would become live under the fault , and if that was touched while stood on the ground a different potential could exsist so shock risk would be higher ?