Body contact (electricity)
A body contact or body fault is a conductive connection between body and active parts of electrical equipment resulting from a fault.<ref>Definition für Körper gemäß Internationales Elektrotechnisches Wörterbuch – IEV 195-06-10: leitfähiges Teil eines elektrischen Betriebsmittels, das berührt werden kann und üblicherweise nicht unter Spannung steht, aber unter Spannung geraten kann, wenn die Basisisolierung versagt.</ref>
A body, short or ground fault is:
- Perfect (direct) contact
If there is no fault resistance in the circuit
- Imperfect (indirect) contact
If a fault resistance is present in the circuit (e.g. wet branch, arc)<ref>Gerhard Kiefer, Herbert Schmolke (2011), VDE 0100 und die Praxis, Wegweiser für Anfänger und Profis (in German) (14. ed.), Berlin und Offenbach: VDE Verlag GmbH, p. 103, ISBN 978-3-8007-3190-9{{citation}}: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)</ref>
This can be caused by installation errors or defects, such as cable breaks.
There is a risk of electric shock when touching the parts of the system under voltage by the body joint. As a countermeasure, so-called protective conductors and residual current circuit breakers are used in electrical engineering.
