By Andrew Liszewski
This should come as a relief to anyone who uses electric power tools outside, particularly those tools designed for cutting. Three inventors from Indiana have patented a new kind of power cable that prevents dangerous electric shocks in the event the cord is severed.
The two live wires in the cable are insulated in the standard way but alongside them runs a bare uninsulated ground wire. All three of these wires are then insulated with a polymer that is laced with black carbon which allows it to conduct electricity. If the cable is accidentally cut the current will flow to the earth via the path of least resistance which happens to be through the conductive polymer and then the ground wire. This of course is far safer than the current flowing to the earth via the power tool and the operator.
