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this post was submitted on 24 Dec 2025
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Under high voltage the current still follows the path of least resistance even when it looks like it does not. What people don't think about is that resistance is not a constant and under strong enough electric field dielectric materials (isolators if you will) can loose their propeties. Strong enough field can rip electrons from elements causing ionisation. Other things such as temperature, mechanical stress, radiation also affect different materials.
So what high voltage changes is making it harder to resist, but charge will still follow least resistance and aim to go for the nearest lest resistance material if such is available.
PS: I have studied all of this in a different language so I may have mixed up some of the terminology in English
The problem is "path of least resistance" implies that there is only one path, which laymen tend to take literally. I go for bike rides along a canal which also has high voltage power lines running above it. If I hold my handlebars just right, with my hands just barely touching the metal of my brake levers, the (I assume) corona discharge gets rather painful. "Path of least resistance" seems like it should be confined to the wire, but in fact includes ~100 feet of air between wire and ground... And me.
... Wow. That's... Wow. An extreme warning sign for me in my work.