I am led to believe that if a wire touches the ground, there will be a difference in potential all around the point of contact of the wire.
From there on, until the Circuit protection operates, if you happen to stand inside the area of the Electricity radiating out from the point of contact, there will be a potential difference between each of your feet, in a HV system, this could quite concievably kill you.
Bjarney, what are your thoughts on this interpretation of Voltage gradients, during Earth Faults?.
What does anyone else think?. [Linked Image]